Aftermath
by sundragons9
Summary: After a series of mysterious events near the end of the 74th Hunger Games, Cato emerges victorious. That is, until he's staring face to face with another Victor of the 74th games, the Girl on Fire. Now Cato & Katniss must endure each other as they are forced into the spotlight of the Capitol and its lusty citizens. Will their time together turn into something more intimate?
1. Finale

**AN: This is my 1st Fan Fiction as well as the 1st story I've ever written. It's been in my head since April so I finally started to write it down. Hope you enjoy.**

_Detailed Summary: After a series of mysterious events near the end of the 74th Hunger Games, Cato emerges victorious. What he doesn't know just yet is that Katniss is also a victor. President Snow gives them the easiest task, become friends and present a united front to show that the Hunger Games were just that, a game, in order to calm the districts. No hard feelings. Katniss's stubbornness makes this nearly impossible, until she is forced to depend on Cato for her survival. Only then does she come to know the real Cato and develop a true friendship that eventually develops into more. Along the way, they find what really happend during their Games and how that could affect the future of Panem for the better._

* * *

It was night now, at least in the arena. The game makers had turned the sky dark when it should only be around noon. They wanted the games to end soon and this was their grand finale. There were only three of us left: me and the two tributes from district 12.

I had an inkling from the start that the Girl on Fire would be in the finale. _It's what they want, isn't it?_ Cato, the brutal and deadly district 2 tribute versus the slum girl who volunteered for her sister. The Capitol loved her, wanted her, desired her. If her stylist hadn't light her costume with harmless fire during the tribute parade, she wouldn't be a factor in these games. Or would she? The stunt her district partner pulled during the interviews was more than enough to drive the gossip hungry Capitol citizens into a frenzy with the willingness to bend over backwards to sponsor the pair. Confessing his love for her. They dubbed them the star-crossed lovers. Well, love has no place in the arena and I'm about to prove that.

The snap of a branch from somewhere to my left breaks me from my thoughts. I draw my sword from its sheath and set myself ready to defend from an attack. Then I hear the low growl and as much as I want to stay and fight, I can only guess there is more than a few of whatever creature the game makers have unleashed on us. It takes only seconds for me to realize I need to get to the cornucopia. I'm running for my life now, tree branches slapping my face, cutting lines into my skin. Warm blood begins to flow lightly from a particularly deep cut on my forehead and I have to use my jacket sleeve to wipe it away to keep it out of my eyes.

Just as I leap over a fallen tree trunk, a huge dog like creature jumps out at me from my right. Mutations! I pivot to try to evade the mutt from hitting me square in the chest but it still manages to slash its claws down my right side. Thankfully my body armor protects from any damage done but it feels like a dumbbell has been dropped onto my ribs.

"Fuck," I yell out. The pain is intense but I don't have time to take it easy. Without a second thought, I plunge my sword into the mutt's skull and yank it back out. The cornucopia is still a few minutes away and this delay could be deadly. I sheath my sword and pull two daggers from my belt which are much easier to run with and take off towards my destination. The howls in the cool, night air assure me what I've already been hoping for, that the creatures are enclosing from a distance and are not already blocking my path to the cornucopia. They are close though.

As I break into the clearing that houses the cornucopia, I see the two tributes from district 12, backs to me. _Are they stupid, _I think? _Do they have a death wish? Do they not hear the mutts?_ They mustn't and that's my advantage. I can easily take on both of them, but the boy would just end up getting in the way of a most magnificent ending. Besides, I can't wait to see how Fire Girl breaks when her precious lover dies.

The howls are closer now and I'm certain 12 can hear them as I see the boy turn towards me. Shock and fear cross his face as he grabs Fire Girl's arm to spin her around. She raises her bow in my direction and releases an arrow. Had I not been wearing the body armor, the arrow would have pierced my heart. The aim was perfect. Her secret skill. However, the arrow just bounced off and I only grunt from the pain of the impact.

I can take a little time now as there are two more targets for the mutts. I contemplate briefly whether I should knock Lover Boy out when I'm only a few feet away but then think against it. _Where's the fun in that?_ So instead, I bash the butt end of my dagger into his face and sweep his feet, making him fall to the ground. A few mutts are just now entering the clearing so I know my time to play is done. I turn to look at Fire Girl who's trying to help her district mate. As she turns to meet my gaze, I can see pure hatred written all across her face. I smirk at her, letting it turn into a smile and lean down to say slightly louder than a whisper, "run."

I break into a sprint for the cornucopia, tossing my daggers on top of the roof and climb up to the same spot. I turn to see that Fire Girl has shot the two mutts who were already in the clearing and she was trying to help the boy but he was yelling at her to leave him. Finally she does and just as she reaches the top and stands, I draw my sword. She holds her bow protectively in front of her but she has no more arrows left. I throw my head back and laugh. _Too easy._

I know though that I can't play with this girl. Perhaps when she's almost dead, but not before. If it's one the thing I know about Fire Girl, it's that playing with her gets you burned. Glimmer and district 4 died by tracker jackers after we chased Fire Girl up a tree. She'd dropped a nest on our group the next morning. The rest of us did not walk away unscathed but we had our lives still.

Marvel waited to kill the little girl that Fire Girl aligned with so she could watch her die. Told me he couldn't wait to see her break and that he'd bring her back to camp for me to kill. I'd headed back to camp after that and about a half hour later, heard two cannons several minutes apart. That night confirmed my suspicions that Marvel was dead after he didn't return to camp.

And then there was Clove. My Clove, my closest friend. The girl who knew everything about me and I knew all there was about her. The girl who knew my surface was just a show and that had my parents still been alive, I'd never have trained for the games. She wanted to kill Fire Girl at the feast and I agreed to let her. Only when I heard her screaming my name did I realize my mistake. As I'd come upon the scene, I could see the huge boy tribute from district 11 running off with his and our backpack and Fire Girl on her back with a knife cut down her face. I ran up to Clove, cradling her in my arms, feeling desolate as I watched her die. She had been bashed in the head by the large, bloody rock that lay near her body. If I had gone with her, this wouldn't have happened. When Claudius Templesmith announced earlier in the games that two could win if they were from the same district, we became overconfident. She and I could have gone home together but she played with fire and I paid the price by losing her.

My focus returns to the girl in front of me, once again wiping the blood away from my forehead. Long, dark hair braided to the side and grey, fierce eyes that display such hostility. There is a fire that rages in her eyes. She knows she's cornered but she won't go down without a fight. Fire Girl is feisty and I like that. I twirl the sword in my hand as I think about how I want to do this. Deeply placed cuts on her biceps would disable her and prevent her from using her arms to fight back. I glance quickly to the field where Lover Boy was last, just to be sure he hadn't made it here and catch me off guard. Sure enough, he is out there trying to fight off the mutts in vain. There are more than a dozen mutts though that have circled the cornucopia, so falling is not an option.

"Lover Boy can't help you now," I sneer at her. As she turns her head to look over towards the boy, I take that as my opportunity to cut her right bicep. She screams in agony and drops her bow on to the smooth metal surface below our feet. _This is it._ Just as I go in to cut her left bicep, a burst of air hits me and I'm knocked back off my feet. I feel the wind knocked out of me as I land on my back, my right arm smacking against the surface. I watch in horror as my sword slips from my hand and disappears off the side of the cornucopia.

_Fuckers. _ This is the Capitol. They want Fire Girl to win and they're interfering. But as I sit up, I notice she isn't any better off. She's also laying on her back, trying to regain her breath. Again, I look out towards the field where Lover Boy was last but my vision is fuzzy. I can barely make him out but there is something else that I can't quite see and then I hear his cannon. Just me and Fire Girl left now.

My head is throbbing so I squeeze my eyes shut and return my gaze to my lap. I have to finish this. I've trained almost my entire life for this and I need to win. For pride, honor and glory. For Clove. For myself and what I need to do. Now is not the time to be weak.

I make my way over to Fire Girl who is now crying out for Peeta. So that must be Lover Boy's name. I press my one knee into her stomach and the other knee onto the metal surface. She releases her breath from the weight of the impact. I wrap my right hand around her neck and use the fingers on my free hand to dig into the cut on her arm. She screams out in pain and I can't help but laugh.

"Oh, Fire Girl," I chuckle. "I love hearing you scream." I wipe her blood on my fingers down the side of her face and along her jawline before bringing my left hand around her neck as well and squeeze tightly, wanting to watch as the life leaves her grey eyes. I squeeze harder while she flails under me, trying to pry my hands off with her only good one.

"Prim," she manages to whisper with what breath she can. I know she did this for her sister and for that I admire her for so I lean down and whisper in her ear, "I'm sorry." It's then that I feel a sharp stabbing in my exposed shoulder blade. _Bitch. _ I roar out in anger, releasing her so I can grab for the dagger. This is my own undoing. I never picked them back up when I tossed them up here. The audience is probably loving this. Just as my hand grips the dagger, I'm hit with another force that knocks me over. It doesn't stop like the first time, though. It's like the earth is quaking under the cornucopia. Wave after wave hit and I feel myself losing consciousness. _I should have just snapped her neck. _And then I hear two cannons.


	2. Leta

(Cato's POV)

When I wake up, the first thing I notice is the strong scent of antiseptic in the air and the warmth that surrounds my body. My eyes flutter as I try to open them, unused to the brightness of the lights. I'm alive which means I've won and now I must be in the recovery center. I allow myself a rare smile while quietly reveling in my victory. For everything that's gone wrong in my life, I can only hope this is the beginning of something better.

The bed I'm lying in is a luxury versus the hard ground of the arena I've had to sleep on the past few weeks. It's amazing what a little comfort can do to for your body. I want to pull the blankets up past my shoulders and that's when I notice I'm restrained. _The hell?_

As if my unspoken question was heard, the door to the room opens and in walks a nurse carrying a tray with what I assume is food. She has long, fiery red hair, sky blue eyes and long eyelashes that mimic flames. _Put it to rest, folks. Fire Girl's dead. _The rest of her appearance is normal, if not beautiful. Her skin is undyed and her makeup is natural with the exception of her eyelashes. Even the red trim on her uniform doesn't stand out like an eyesore, something unusual for a citizen of the Capitol.

"Cato," she says in her sing song voice, her soft gaze meeting mine. "My name's Leta." Her eyes move from mine down to the strap across my waist and unlike most women, she doesn't appear like she's about to jump by bones.

She purses her lips and sighs before she decides to start explaining, "You're probably wondering why you're restrained?" She pauses and I nod, my throat too sore to voice a response. "Well, you're not quite healed yet and you kept pulling your IV out." She's looking at me expectantly, probably waiting for me to let her know I understand. It's a bullshit excuse as I feel perfectly fine. Something else is at play here to keep me restrained to this bed, but I nod my head anyway.

She comes over to the side of my bed, places the tray down on the bedside table and presses a button that moves me into a sitting position. The part of the blanket covering my torso has fallen down, revealing the straps that bind my wrists to the bed. I let my eyes roam over the parts of my arms I can see and I notice that any visible scars I had are gone. My skin is clean and smooth, my nails perfectly manicured as if I had never been in the arena. Anger courses through my veins at the realization that they've erased the reminders of my past, my hard work and the price I paid for it. I try to talk but it just comes out in a raspy, jumbled mess. I look at the nurse questioningly.

"Oh honey, your throat's just dry is all. You've been out for about 3 days." _3 days? Wow. I'll have to ask her what happened later._ She tears the paper from a straw and places it in a bowl of brownish liquid.

"It's broth. The warmth should help sooth your throat," she says as she lifts the straw to my lips. I take a whiff to be sure that it really is broth as I don't trust these people. Noticing my hesitation, Leta grabs the spoon from the tray and after a quick glance over her shoulder, scoops some broth to her lips and sips it down.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking," she says. Lifting the straw to my lips, she continues "Do drink it as you have a visitor coming and you'll need to be able to speak."

As I sip the broth, the warm liquid instantly soothes my dry throat. A few swallows later I can feel my body relax completely. Warmth spreads through me and I can't help but let a goofy smile creep across my face. I feel complete bliss. It isn't until I hear Leta chuckle that I realize I've been drugged.

"What the hell did you give me?" I growl.

"Nothing. Now let me check your gown to make sure it's tied in the back. Wouldn't want you giving anyone a show." She leans in close, a hand on my shoulder to pull me slightly forward and dropping the Capitol accent she whispers in my ear, "Listen, President Snow is going to be here any minute. I've given you an elixir that will combat the effects of the truth serum I'm sure he'll give you. It just relaxes you so your heartbeat doesn't rise if you're lying in the least bit. There was some morphling mixed in to give the same side effects of the serum so he won't know the difference. That's why you probably feel super happy. You'll understand once he's here and I'm going to assume you are smart enough to know how to answer any questions he may ask without raising suspicion." She then pats my back and looking me dead in the eyes says, "You say anything about this," and she motions to indicate between us "and you won't live to see tomorrow." She then flashes me a wicked smile.

Before I can fire back on the threat though, there is a knock on the door and President Snow enters with a squirrelly looking man trailing behind him.

"Visitors," Leta says, her voice returning to a sing song tone. "I'll come check on you later" and with that she leaves the room, closing the door behind her. I'm surprised that she didn't greet Snow cordially but I certainly didn't miss the disgusted look he gave her outfit after seeing how she's dressed.

"Ah, Mr. Sorenson. How are you feeling this morning?" President Snow asks me while taking a seat in the chair beside my bed. The overwhelming scent of blood and roses wafts through the air and I do all that I can not to gag. Now I know why I'm restrained. They must not trust me to be so close to the President when he's unguarded.

"Alive," I say. Snow chuckles and then waves the man who entered the room with him over to the metal stand that holds a bag of fluid that flows through the IV into my arm. I can see now from the way he's dressed that he must be a doctor. He pulls a syringe from his pocket, connects it to a port on my IV and injects some fluid.

"What did you just inject into me?" I ask, partly because I want to know, partly because I want to see if Leta was telling the truth and partly because I think I'll be lied to by this doctor. I'd consider myself pretty good at knowing when someone's lying. I don't need a serum. I've spent years of reading expressions, body language and listening to friends lie to their parents. If I wasn't training, I was watching people, partly out of envy to know what it's like to have a family, a mother to care about you. Nervously, the doctor flicks his gaze from me to Snow.

"Something that allows me to know if what you tell me is true or not," Snow answers. "You see, I received many calls after Peeta had died during the games saying that there was someone or something in the arena that shouldn't have been. I've re-watched the tapes myself and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. I also watched the tapes that focused solely on Peeta and again, everything seemed normal. But when you have thousands claiming otherwise, well, I can only ask the one person who would truly know. You."

Snow pulls a handkerchief from his suit pocket and dabs his mouth before stuffing it back in. "So Cato, tell me, did you see anything that shouldn't have been in the arena? Take your time and think carefully. The serum should help your memory as well."

I lay my head back on my pillow and close my eyes. My mind wanders to the moment I flicked my gaze towards the boy and I try to concentrate on what I saw but the scene is still fuzzy. Whatever Leta gave me is completely blocking the effects of what Snow gave me. Makes me wonder if he's aware that there are traitors on the inside. Not my problem, though.

I'm still running that moment through my mind when suddenly I can clearly see a mutt's bodiless head moving towards Peeta before he kicks it. But the part where I thought I saw something during the games still isn't clear. I give up. This is most likely the stuff Leta didn't want me to talk about anyway.

"Well, the only thing I could see that wasn't normal was a mutt's head moving without a body, " I say carefully, watching Snow's face as intently as he is watching me. "But I also remember some force that knocked me off my feet though I'm sure you already know about that."

"I do," Snow replies. "I'm told it was an earthquake. Something that was unavoidable. Unfortunately, it destroyed the arena's foundation, causing the arena to collapse shortly after you were picked up by the medical unit. Lucky for you. However, the Quarter Quell arena was also damaged. As for the mutations, well, Seneca had a sense of humor this year."

"Perhaps then what people thought was something was just the vibrations of the camera and the arena due to the earthquake," I say. I know the excuse is a lie but so is the earthquake. Apparently though, Snow believes it really was one. He appears satisfied with my answers as he doesn't press any further.

I've never experienced an earthquake but I know that I was knocked back by some force or blast, not knocked off my feet because shaking caused me to loose balance. There are weapons that would cause such a blast. Sonic wave guns or something like that. I've heard of them but I doubt there'd be any within the arena for a tribute to use.

I didn't notice I had let my mind wander until a loud clanking sound brings me back to President Snow sitting in front of me. Glancing over my shoulder, I see that the doctor accidentally knocked the tray with the bowl of broth off of the side table.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to get to your IV to remove it," he says and bends down, scurrying to pick up the items.

"What will happen to the upcoming Hunger Games now that the arena's been damaged?" I ask.

"Oh, they'll go on," Snow answers. "Work has already begun to repair the damage to the Quarter Quell arena and if we have to, we'll use a reserve arena which is already being prepared."

"It's quite costly," he continues. "Something that would drain the Capitol's financial resources with what little time we have to prepare. That's where you come in. I'd like to offer you a proposition, a business transaction if you wish."

Snow glances at his watch and sighs, apparently disappointed. "We'll discuss this later. Being the President, I have other matters to attend to right now." He then stands and turns towards the doctor who accompanied him into the room, "Doctor Bryant, if you'll please take care of the IV and then you can go."

Snow has already opened the door to leave before he turns to me and says, "Pardon my bad manners. I almost forgot. Congratulations Cato on winning and if you remember anything else, please call," and with a tight smile he turns and leaves the room.

"Excuse me," the doctor says. He's now moved to my side, swabs my skin clean around the IV and then pulls it out, quickly applying pressure to stop the bleeding. After he's finished bandaging the area, he removes the restraints from my wrists and waist and then scurries out the door.

The door hasn't been fully closed so I can hear the conversation that takes place outside my room. "Really, Leta?" Snow hisses. "Your choice of outfit is not what I'd expect from a member of my family," and I don't get to hear the rest of what he says as the conversation has dropped to an inaudible whisper. _What? Leta is related to Snow? _But then why would she help me earlier? And why did she let her Capitol accent drop for me but keep it up for Snow? I can't help but be suspicious of her but I don't have anymore time to figure it out. There's more bickering followed by an exasperated sigh before the door pushes open and Leta enters again.

Before she can say anything, I ask her skeptically, "Who are you really and what was that with President Snow in the hallway?" She flashes me a dangerous look before moving over to my bedside. Her left hand moves to cup the back of my neck as she leans in, bringing her lips dangerously close to mine. With her right hand, she slowly unfastens several buttons on her nurses uniform, revealing the red lace that clings to the perfect round peaks of her creamy breasts. In an instant my mind is mush as she slides her lips across my cheek to my ear and I can't help the moan that escapes my mouth as I pull her body on top of mine. She laughs, warm breath on my ear and says, "I'm here to help you, Cato. You'll find out everything in due time and now's not it." With that, she bites my earlobe hard at the same time I feel something jab into my neck.

"Men," is the last thing I hear as I feel myself lose consciousness and with my last bit of energy I whisper out, "Fucking bitch."

* * *

**AN: Thank you for those who've taken the time to read my story.**

**I know there are questions the 1st chapter brought up and some have been answered in this chapter. The rest will be answered in the next few chapters. Katniss will appear in the 5th chapter, if I've planned this out correctly. Katniss's POV won't be until after the interview.  
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**I appreciate any feedback, but mostly I just hope you've read this far and have enjoyed the story so far.**


	3. A Puzzle within a Puzzle

Moaning. I wake up to the sound of pitiful moaning and only when I scan the room and see no one else do I realize the moaning came from me. I've had my fair share of bad dreams and nightmares but I don't remember ever making a sound. Luckily I've naturally been a quiet sleeper, unlike some of the kids I trained with. They were beaten for that, though I'm not sure soundless sleeping is something that can be learned.

When I try to remember what I was just dreaming about, I come up blank. Whatever it was has left me with a sense of unease and sadness. Those feelings certainly don't mirror how I should be feeling. Victors always seem to be happy and smiling when they show them after they've won their games. Well, with the exception of a few who completely lost it or withdrew into themselves, like Annie Cresta did after winning the 70th Hunger Games.

Perhaps I'd had a dream about my parents but I really don't want to think about them right now. That would only make me more sad, so instead I think of good things. I'm alive. I've won the Hunger Games, making me rich and famous and I'll finally have my own house. I won't have to live with the Sorensons anymore. They're not my real parents and I've never really felt close to them or their children. Afterall, I was always training.

If there's one thing I can be thankful of, it's that they offered me the best chance to win The Hunger Games. Regardless how I feel about them, I'm glad I am able to bring pride and honor to my district. Though the definition of pride and honor is determined by how an individual interprets it. To me, in the most basic form, it's to be able to provide food for those who need it while keeping District 2 in the Capitol's favor. I shudder to think of those districts who do not have the Capitol's favor.

I notice a pile of clothes sitting on my side table along with a slip of paper on top. Picking up the paper, I read, "_Please change into the clothes provided and then you are free to return to your district apartment_."

I can't help but chuckle. Leta must've realized that coming back to discharge me wouldn't have been the best idea. Not that I'd know what I would do now that I know she's related to President Snow.

Next to the clothes is a steaming cup of something I don't dare drink. Not after last time. I hop out of bed, remove my hospital gown and change into the clothes provided. They're exactly what I wore in the arena, except everything is new.

As I lean down to put on my boots, I feel something jab into my inner thigh. I reach into my pants trying to find and remove the item but find that whatever it is has been sewn off in a well reinforced panel. It's not something I can just rip open which makes me think it's important. Something not meant to be looked at here. I'll have to find a knife or scissors when I get back to my room.

I finish putting on my boots and tying them before heading out of the recovery room. With each step I take, the corner of the object keeps poking me in my groin which makes walking extremely uncomfortable. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who's behind this. I'm sure Leta's having a ball of a time laughing at my expense. Grabbing the crotch of my pants to prevent any more contact, I hurriedly make my way to the elevators at the end hallway hoping no one sees me in the process.

The elevator arrives shortly after pressing the call button and I step inside, relieved that I didn't run into anyone. I press the button for District Two's floor and then turn to face the door. While standing there, I can't help bouncing on the balls of my feet as I'm unable to contain the overwhelming excitement I feel. The reality of me being a victor is finally sinking in. Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

The elevator dings and the doors open to reveal an almost empty apartment. There are a few Avoxes setting up for breakfast but no one else. Even though it's early, 6:30 a.m., I still expected my team would be here to greet me. A nurse should have been up to alert my team that I was on my way up from the recovery center. Suddenly, I'm angry.

Here I am, a victor. I deserve a victor's welcome after spending the past few weeks fighting for my life in the arena and they're all just so cozy in bed. I walk to the small table situated in the center of the entry area. There sits a beautiful vase. Running my fingers along its smooth surface, I contemplate taking the vase and smashing it to the floor just to wake everyone up. My escort is sure to have a fit about it.

Before my anger gets the best of me, I'm alerted to another presence when I hear the ding of the elevator. I turn around to see who it is and I can't help the smirk that appears on my face.

"Well, well, well," I chime, resting my hands on my hips. "What do we have here?"

The girl standing in front of me steps off the elevator and then bows her head, keeping her gaze fixed towards the ground. My eyes flit to the tray the girl is holding out to me. On it sits a rectangular box covered in gold foil and what's that? Red lace? _Leta!_ Well, I guess other girls wear red lace but this is intentional. A clue as to who the gift is from.

I reach out my hand to pick up the box only to have the girl pull it back and jerk her head in the direction of my room. Given that she isn't speaking, I assume she's an Avox. An Avox is a person who has committed a crime against the Capitol and as punishment their tongue has been cut out.

I turn and make my way down the hallway that leads to my room, the Avox in step behind me. When I reach my door, I can't help but turn to look at the closed door of Clove's room. Somewhere in my mind, I'm hoping she will pull open that door and tell me it was all just pretend, that she really wasn't dead. But she doesn't come. I won't ever see her again.

I can't believe how emotional I've become lately. In training, we're taught emotions are a weakness. Something the enemy will use to exploit. I guess this is what the games do to you.

Turning away from her room, I twist the door knob and enter mine. The Avox follows me inside and I close the door behind her. This time, she places the tray onto my bed and then moves to stand against the wall, her head bowed down. I walk over to the bed, pick up the gold box and untie the lace ribbon. Lifting off the top of the box, I discover a pair of scissors. Convenient. It's obvious what I'm wanted to do.

Examining the scissors, I notice they're as sharp as a blade of a sword. Undoing the bottom and sliding down the zipper, I remove my pants and place them on the bed. I was never one for modesty. I want my body to be looked at, to be admired. Regardless, I'm in my boxer briefs so I'm still covered up.

Quickly, I turn the pants inside out and locate the spot I'm looking for. Taking the scissors in my right hand, I carefully cut into the fabric, creating a not so perfect circle. Concentrating now on this smaller piece, I cut along the very edge of the reinforced stitching, revealing whatever is inside.

Pulling the item out, I notice it's a tightly folded square of paper. I unfold the paper to see it's some sort of puzzle. There are a bunch of words on the top of the page and a jumble of letters on the bottom. I've seen these before. It's a word search, but why would Leta send me a puzzle?

I grab a pen from the drawer of my nightstand and begrudgingly start finding and circling the words. They all seem to be related to the games. Sword, blood, death, cannon, etc. When I'm done, I feel no more closer to figuring out what this puzzle has to do with anything. Frustrated, I crumple up the paper and toss it onto the floor. I need a shower anyway so I make my way into the bathroom.

Before undressing, I turn on the shower to let the water warm up but then realize it's already warm. Perhaps it's out of habit from home. Regardless, I take this time to examine my body in the mirror. My blond hair is flat, but messy and my eyes look tired, perhaps from too much sleep. I've been told my eyes resemble the color of the sky when it's about to rain. Stormy blue is what people say. The scars on my face from over the years are gone and for that, I am glad. Some bring about memories I don't ever want to think about which is hard when they're in my face whenever I look in the mirror. None of the scars on my face were due to hard work, though they were a daily reminder to work harder.

I remove my shirt and glide my fingers over the skin on my shoulders and arms, not feeling any ridges or roughness. I remember seeing no scars on my hands or forearms in the recovery center. It isn't until I run my fingers along my hips that I feel the first imperfection on my body. On my left hip is a faint pink scar of an old injury, a painful reminder that The Hunger Games were my only option, my only purpose. My fingers linger on the scar for only a moment before moving on but finding nothing else.

After removing the rest of my clothes, I step into the shower. The warm water feels great and it's only now that I realize how stiff and sore my body feels from lying in bed for so long. I'm sure the games had a lot to do with how I feel as well. I make quick work of washing my body, face and hair, hoping I'll have enough time to check out the training room before getting ready for my victor's interview with Caesar.

Stepping out of the shower, I grab my towel and dry off. When I walk out of my room, the same Avox girl as before is still standing against the wall. There is a neat pile of clothes sitting on my bed along with what was the crumpled puzzle that is now flattened out. I grab the boxer briefs and pull them on under my towel. I'm not modest but I'm not in the mood to mess around.

Just as I'm reaching for the pants, an arm reaches across mine to pick up the puzzle. The Avox girl is now standing next to me but her eyes are on the paper. She points to the uncircled letters, in order, pausing after a few and looking at me as if asking if I understand. I look at the puzzle again and this time notice the uncircled letters when put together form a sentence.

* * *

Kind of a cliffhanger. This chapter was unfinished at 4127 words so I decided to break it into two to help with people's time available to read. Katniss will make her appearance right after the 2nd part of this chapter is released

Sorry this has taken so long to be released. Most of the chapter was written but stuff had to still be filled in. Plus, I changed things that seemed to be long later in the story.

I was also in dire need of a beta since **MorphlingInTheSoap** has been there since the beginning but she's really busy with college. **MadameAnnaBeth** joined up and has given me some great pointers and helped out.

I hope it sounds good and flows well. Any questions, just ask in reviews. Please review. I appreciate the feedback


	4. Brutus, Haymitch and Katniss, oh my

I read the sentence, "_Ask Sumari for the letter_." All of that just for this stupid sentence. I thought it would be some super secret but apparently I'm just being messed with.

Crumpling the paper in my fist, I turn towards the Avox girl and ask through gritted teeth, "Who the hell is Sumari?"

My tone frightens her. She takes a step back from me and shakily points to herself.

"Give me the damn letter," I demand. She looks at me, confused. I've had it.

"I'm tired of these stupid, fucking games," I say, slowly and forcefully. Stepping forward, I knock the tray out of her hands and it clatters noisily against the floor.

Grabbing her by the front of her shirt, I pull Sumari towards me so our faces are only inches apart and whisper, "You better figure it out. I'll give you two minutes to find this letter, or else I'm gonna show you just what I learned in the academy." It's an empty threat. I wouldn't really hurt her, but I'm annoyed and want to get this figured out.

Frantically, Sumari starts patting down her uniform, checking to see if somehow she has this letter. I can see the dread in her expression as she comes up empty-handed. She falls to her knees and crawls over to where the tray lays on the floor, flipping it over and checking its side compartments.

The box that I took from the tray earlier still sits on my bed. I pick it up and examine the sides and bottom for any secret compartments, even ripping out the silk lining but find nothing. In anger, I smash the box against the floor and crouch down, hoping to find something in the remains but have no such luck.

I move back over to the bed and sit down. Closing my eyes, I work to control my breathing to help calm me down. I know this isn't Sumari's fault. Leta put her in a bad situation.

As I go to lay back on the bed, I feel the crunch of paper underneath me. Leaning up a bit, I grab whatever I was laying on and bring it in front of me. It's the gold foil wrapping paper and to my surprise, I notice writing on the non-foil side. Scanning the writing quickly, I notice it's a genuine letter.

"You can stop looking," I say. "Found it." I hear her breathe in relief. As she moves to leave my room, I call out to her to tell Leta she owes me.

Laying back down on the bed, I start to read the letter. Just then, there's a knock on my door.

"Cato, come out for breakfast," a female voice calls.

"Give me a few minutes," I yell out. "I haven't finished getting dressed." I lay the letter back down, frustrated that I've been interrupted.

Getting up off the bed, I put on the rest of my clothes and then finish up in the bathroom by brushing my teeth, styling my hair and putting on deodorant. After neatly folding the letter, I slide it into my pocket for safekeeping.

As I exit my room, I am practically barreled over by my squealing escort, Kiki. I push her off me as the stench of her perfume makes me want to gag. Her ensemble mimics the golden gladiator costumes Clove and I wore during the tribute parade which stands out against her naturally dark skin. Her magenta hair doesn't particularly go with her look, but what do I know? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to fashion, instead sticking mostly to safe, solid, neutral colors. Anything fashionable I own came specifically from the Sorenson's stylist.

"I just knew we'd have a winner this year. You were magnificent, Cato!" she exclaims and leads me towards the living room of the apartment. Sitting on the couches are Brutus and Enobaria, previous Victors and this year's mentors from District 2.

"Not bad," Brutus says. "You gave the audience what they wanted; a bloody, brutal show," he adds as he stands up from the couch. The tall, green-eyed man offers his hand out to the raven haired woman sitting next to him, helping her stand up. "Though the ending was shit. You should have just gutted that girl when you had the chance."

"Yeah, well she's dead now and I won so that's all I care about," I reply gruffly. "My only regret is that I couldn't bring Clove home with me."

This causes Enobaria to erupt in a fit of laughter, her gold-tipped, pointed teeth on display in her open mouth. "Oh, I'm sure you'll have more regrets real soon," she roars.

I round on her, fists clenched. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demand. Is she just assuming that or does she know something that I don't?

"Stop it. Enough!" warns Brutus. "Let's just eat lunch. It's going to be a long day. There's the interview, the crowning ceremony and then some victory party after." At that, Brutus makes his way over to the dining room table and sits down. Enobaria and our escort join him.

"I've never heard of them putting on a victory party before the Victory Tour," I say, taking the remaining place setting at the table. My eyes flash to the empty seat across from me and I suddenly feel numb.

"Snow wants it," Brutus replies, but I don't listen much after as I let my mind wander. I haven't had the time to really grieve Clove. Truthfully, I didn't think her death would even phase me. I knew it was part of being a tribute and with both of us being here, it had to be one of us. I guess I let myself get too attached when the announcement was made that two could win if they were both from the same district.

On the plate in front of me sits the smallest portion of a meal I've ever been given. It doesn't take me long to finish but I'm full. Having not eaten a lot the past few weeks has led to my stomach shrinking. I'd been through similar situations while going through training back home at the academy so this was no surprise.

The conversation at the table drifts to favorite moments from the games and I occasionally reply "uh huh," though I'm not really paying attention. The topic forces my mind to wander back to some memorable moments in the arena. I felt the most confident and in control when all my allies were alive, naturally. All hell broke loose the moment we crossed paths with the girl from 12.

It's like Enobaria is reading my thoughts when she speaks her next words. "Can you believe it?" Enobaria says, her voice dripping with disdain. "A nobody from district 12 wiping out the mighty Careers. I was totally embarrassed when Clove died," and she glares at me with a look that lets me know she blames me. This enrages me.

"Fuck this," I say through gritted teeth. I push back from the table and stand, knocking my chair over in the process.

Adding fuel to the fire, Enobaria taunts, "Maybe you shouldn't be the Victor. A real Victor doesn't let their emotions get the best of them."

Brutus is already up, ready to stop me from throttling her. For a man in his 40's, he's still pretty fit and would have no problem beating my ass. Holding an arm out to my chest, Brutus tries to reason with me and says pointedly, "Cato, it isn't worth it."

He tries to lead me from the dining area, but I can't help but want to cause a little destruction before I leave. Pulling out of his grasp, I pick up my fallen chair and smash it onto the table, causing food and coffee to splatter all over Enobaria. I can't help but to laugh boastfully, while Enobaria is having no such fun. If looks could kill, I'd be dead.

Much to my enjoyment, Kiki is also covered in a mess of food. She jumps up from her chair, screeching in a huff about manners, but I pay no attention to her. Instead, I willfully allow Brutus to lead me from the dining area while keeping my eyes locked on Enobaria as she wipes her face off with a linen napkin.

Once we're in the foyer of the apartment, Brutus releases his grasp on my arm. Pulling me around to face him, he says sternly, "I hope that little tantrum back there made you feel better because I don't want to see that shit again. Learn to control your anger."

"It's her fault," I snap, while scowling. "She kept running her mouth about Clove, knowing she was making me pissed. I want to rip her fucking head off." I could feel my adrenaline pick up again, my heart thudding in my chest.

Surprisingly, Brutus gives me a sympathetic look but warns me that fighting is still a punishable offense in the Capitol. "Ignore Enobaria," he says. "She knows what buttons to push to set you off, specifically the subject of Clove." Leading me over to the elevator, he tells me to blow off some steam in the training center but to be back in time to get ready for tonight's interview.

I step inside the elevator shortly after pressing the call button. As I head down to the training center, I realize that Brutus is doing me a favor. I'm glad that I didn't have to have a heart to heart with him as I'm not a man of many words.

When the doors open, I exit the elevator and turn left to walk towards the double doors of the training center. A simple tug reveals the doors to be unlocked, though the room is dark. The lights must be triggered by sensor because they automatically turn on once I walk through the doors.

What used to be a room filled with the muffled chatter of tributes and the clanking of weapons is now eerily silent with a slightly haunted feel. As I glance around, I see the ghosts of my former allies; Marvel throwing spears, Glimmer trying to use a bow and Clove chucking knives at various targets, a sparkle of glee in her eyes. Clove. She received the highest honor a trainee could obtain and that is to have your name picked during the reaping instead of volunteering. No one dared volunteer after she was picked.

I think back to Enobaria's words and her blaming gaze. If I had just said no to Clove when she begged me to let her take Fire Girl, she might still be here. But I gave in to let her have her fun while I stalked around for Loverboy.

No, I shake my head. It wasn't my fault. The games are about keeping yourself alive, not someone else. Even if Clove and I had made it to the end, I could just imagine the game makers announcing the rule change was revoked. In a way, I am glad it was not by my hands that she died though I'm also glad I could avenge her.

The room is set up in the exact same fashion it was prior to the games, except there are no practice dummies set out. They're all packed tightly in neat rows in an alcove near the sword station so at least it won't be too difficult to set up.

I'd like nothing more than to grab a sword and start hacking and slashing, but my muscles feel a bit tight from not moving them around the past 3 days I was bedridden. A few runs through the endurance obstacle course should help loosen me up.

The obstacle course frustrates me. My limbs feel heavy and slow as I attempt to run through it. I know that I am going faster than most people would but I still push myself to go faster and harder. When I successfully reach the end, I turn back and scowl at the thing. It brings reminders of everything that happened before the Games, standing by Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer laughing at the District 12 boy when he fell. I can almost hear the gleeful laughter echoing in my ears.

I shake it off, clearing the images of my old allies from my mind as I see the practice dummies piled in a corner. I pick out ten of them, arranging them in an organized pattern.

I make my way over to the swords and pick one that's exactly like what I used in the arena. The weight of it is perfect. Extending my arm, I swirl the sword through the air in a display of showmanship.

Facing the dummies, I start to go through a sword exercise I learned during training in District 2. At first, my moves are fluid and calculated but as I let the events of the past few weeks sink in, I start losing control. The worst was Clove dying in my arms. At least I was there to comfort her. She didn't die alone. We were friends but I certainly didn't think I'd feel this terrible about her death. Feelings were for the weak, we were taught. The last time I felt like this was when I found out my parents died. I can feel my eyes start to burn, but I will myself not to cry.

All this anger drives me into a frenzy, hacking aimlessly at the dummies to release my rage. It only further infuriates me when I think how the ever elusive Fire Girl died right in front of me and I didn't even get to see it happen. I didn't get to witness my own victory. I make quick work of the dummies I've arranged, scattering their pieces around the station.

I sense a human presence behind me before I even hear them, but I don't bother to give them the courtesy of turning around. Thinking it's Brutus or my escort, I ask what they want.

"Lost my knife," the voice says. I spin around, not recognizing the voice to find Haymitch Abernathy standing over by the knives and daggers. "Figured I'd come down here to get a new one. Not like anyone's going to be needing these soon," he continues and gestures towards the weapons.

Haymitch is the district 12 mentor and only living Victor within the district, winning the 2nd Quarter Quell. He takes one of the knives but doesn't make a move to leave the room. Instead, he watches me.

"Do you mind, old man?" I ask, turning back to continue my destruction of the dummies. I'm annoyed that he's still staring at me. A whoosh of air past my ear and a solid 'thunk' catches me off guard. The knife Haymitch had been holding mere moments ago was now embedded into the bullseye of my next target.

"Arrogance is gonna be your downfall," he says. "Don't let age fool you, kid. It's when you let your guard down that you'll receive a knife in the back."

"Are you threatening me?" I growl.

"Not at all," he replies and then takes a swig from the flask he pulls from his jacket. "Take it as a warning, kid. You may have won, but the game is far from over."

"Says the drunk who hasn't brought a tribute home in the 24 years since he won," I sneer. "What could you possibly know?"

"Let me guess," he says as he scans the area around me. "Victory doesn't taste as sweet as you thought? It doesn't live up to the images displayed on television or whatever you were taught during training back in your district?"

I just glare at him, not answering. I'm not going to share my feelings with him no matter how close to the truth he is. He's right though, but I'm sure it'll get better once I'm around more people. Isolation and idle minds tends to lead to over imagination.

"Right. I didn't think so," he replies, answering his own question while pointing to the destruction at my feet. "I witnessed you release your anger on those dummies a few minutes ago. Gotta be something _awfully _bad to make you that angry. You're alive, but things are a lot different than what you expected, ey?"

I still don't respond, but I can tell he knows what I'm going through, that I'm not just some robotic killer.

Haymitch then walks over to the archery area and runs his fingers along the curve of a bow. "They say for honor, glory, pride," he says, a faraway look in his grey eyes. "What they don't tell you about is the loss, the eventual nightmares, and yes, the eventual guilt. _That's a victor's dirty little secret._ I have a feeling you're not a sociopath, though you do borderline on crazy sometimes." The last part he says jokingly which earns a chuckle from me and a smile from Haymitch. _Weird._

Haymitch starts talking about how the Victors band together, regardless of district. That we're the only support system each other has and to remember who the real enemy is. He doesn't have to say it for me to know he's speaking about the Capitol.

I know that Haymitch is trying to get me to trust him, but I'm not sure why. And speaking ill about the Capitol is highly dangerous. You could end up an Avox or perhaps they'll just kill you. I've always been taught to show loyalty and respect to the Capitol, but I'm not about to go rat him out.

"You don't come out of a situation like that without being a little messed up, even if you are a Career," he says.

"Was," I correct him. The other districts, they call people like me a Career although this wasn't the direction my life was headed before my parents died. Careers are tributes who have trained their entire lives for the games. They're typically from the wealthier districts of 1, 2 and 4. That's their Career, and most of them die. I'm no longer a Career now that the games are over, nothing to work towards anymore, and that makes me feel sorta empty inside.

"You've surprised me kid," he says while shaking his head, though I'm not quite sure what he means by that. Perhaps it's because I didn't go all crazy on him, something I certainly would have done before the games.

"Cato," I say, correcting him again.

"Anyway, I'll see you later at the fe... the banquet," Haymitch says as he starts to leave. "After all, they do have the best alcohol. You should get yourself going as well, otherwise your escort will have a fit," and with that, he's gone.

Well, the guy's not as useless as I thought. I just don't get why he wasn't angry with me as I did kill his tributes. I mean, he even corrected himself from saying the word 'feast,' knowing it's a sore subject for me.

I leave the remains of the target dummies where they are and return the sword to its place on the rack. Some Avox will clean the mess up. I head to the elevator before remembering I haven't had a chance to finish reading the letter from earlier. Pulling it from my pocket, I'm glad to see the ink has not smudged.

_Enjoy my little game? I'm sure I had you all riled up, but what fun would it be to give away all these secrets if I didn't make you work for them? _

_Later tonight you will be offered some options. Although I cannot share all the details, I can tell you one option is to offer your company to Capitol citizens. It will be presented to you in a way that makes it the more desirable option, and I can only hope that you read this letter to fully understand what that option entails._

_Providing company to someone in the Capitol is more than merely being there to take them on a date or providing a companion for the night. Instead, you'll be used for sexual gratification. Might not sound so bad, but in reality, you'll have no say over whom you'll be spending your time with.. Young, old, ugly, pretty, female, male. That's right, even if you're not attracted to men, you'll be "sold" to them. You have to understand that the only thing that matters to the Capitol is money. You'll be sold to the highest bidder for the night, week or even month. Your dignity for money. _

_Everything requested/demanded of you by your purchaser, you'll be required to do, or you risk putting your loved ones in danger. Your purpose will be to entertain and your purchaser may even drug you to perform as he or she wishes._

_It is very rare that a desirable Victor is offered options. Be grateful that you have been told this and do not take this matter lightly. _

Well, that's pretty messed up. I don't want to be somebody's whore, let alone sleep with some guy. I shudder at the thought. Makes me wonder what the other option is that would make this seem more desirable? And what the fuck? I thought that being a Victor meant I was free but in reality, I'm even more captive now than before. Anger boils in my blood at the injustice of it all.

I can't help but wonder what she means by my loved ones though. I couldn't care less about the Sorensons, even their snotty, little children. So does this mean the Capitol know about my sister Laurel, or is this a general threat made to anyone who would dare defy the Capitol? I know they love to dig into the personal and private lives of tributes in the top six, but even I haven't been able to locate my sister since she was adopted from The Home, and I've spent many years trying to do so. So help me, if they even touch a hair on her head, I'll burn this city down.

I push the looming situation to the back of my mind and try not to think about it. The last thing I need is to mess up my interview which would piss off President Snow. I call the elevator and head up to my room where my stylist team and Kiki freak out on me for being so late. They usher me into the shower quickly, and soon I'm sitting in a chair while the stylists go to work. After they're done, I slip on a nice grey suit with a gold shirt, and red and gold tie.

Entering the common area of the apartment, I can see everyone else is ready to go. We take the elevator down to the same floor where the pregame interviews took place. As I'm standing on the metal lift plate underneath the stage, Brutus comes over, a serious look on his face.

"Cato, no matter what happens out there, be nice even if you might not want to be," he whispers in my ear. "This is serious. You don't want to give President Snow a reason to harm you or anyone you care about. Basically, do not embarrass him."

"Huh?" I reply, questioningly.

"You'll understand shortly," answers Brutus.

Now I'm nervous. Being a target of the president is not good, but I have no more time to dwell on it. I can hear Caesar Flickerman start announcing my team and soon the plate under my feet starts to rise, lifting me up to the stage. I plaster on my winning smile, the one that makes the girls swoon. The crowd is clapping, and many are screaming my name. I wink and blow kisses towards the girls who catch them in their hands as if the kisses were real.

Caesar shakes my hand when I finally make it over to my chair. He still wears the same blue ensemble and blue hair from before the game started. We both sit down, and Caesar tries to quiet down the audience. As clapping stops and the volume of the screamers dies down, some girls yell out that they love me and if I'll marry them. Finally, after a few more requests by Caesar, the audience is quiet.

"First off, I'd like to say congratulations on winning the 74th annual Hunger Games," Caesar says.

"Thank you," I reply, and this causes the audience to scream out a few more "I love you's."

"So tell me, Cato, how do you feel?"

"To be honest, Caesar, I feel great. I'm alive, I'm a Victor and I was able to bring pride to my district."

"Along the way though, there was a fiery girl who kept blocking your path to victory. Katniss Everdeen showed she was some true competition. You fought against her until the very end," Caesar says, a sparkle in his eyes.

I snort when he calls her 'true competition,' but the audience seems to be excited about her. They let out a few hoots and hollers when Caesar stands and walks towards the center of the stage. I'm confused by what he's doing. I've never seen Caesar move from his chair during an interview except for formalities.

"I wonder what she felt during those last moments," Caesar says to the audience. "How about we find out!" he exclaims, and now I'm confused.

What does he mean, find out how she felt? You can't speak to the dead. The audience is going crazy again while Caesar starts to introduce some other people to the stage.

"And now, for the girl you've all been waiting for. You know her as the girl who was on fire, Katniss Everdeen!" he shouts out, and I see her rise up from under the stage and walk forward to greet Caesar. She has a fake smile plastered on her face as she reluctantly waves at the audience.

I stand, but I'm too stunned to move. Why is she alive? How could there be two winners? Just then, she turns towards the seat and her eyes meet mine. She's just as shocked as I was when I first saw her rise up onto the stage. So this is what Brutus meant by being nice no matter what happened? Why the hell couldn't he have told me about this? I'm furious on the inside but manage to force a smile at the girl with a slight nod of my head. Well, things just got more interesting.

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**Sorry not much to add in AN. Been sick with the flu.**

**EDIT: Thank you wjjmwmsn5, MadameAnnabeth and MorphlingInTheSoap for helping me edit/Beta this chapter. Also, fixed some errors, such as a few sentences copied twice.  
**

**Been juggling Beta readers and so the story takes a bit longer to get out. Really missed having someone to bounce ideas off of, but my very first fanfiction friend and unofficial beta's is back for xmas break so I'm ecstatic. Lova ya, MorphlingInTheSoap. (Look for an Anything But Love update sometime this winter break from her.)**

**Thank you for your reviews. I really hope to hear from more of you. They push me to write.**

**itsjillian - I hope this became a lot less complicated.**

**If anyone has any questions or suggestions, feel free to add. Thank you all for reading. If you read this far, may you win lots of money in the lotto or something.**


	5. So we finally meet

**Rating changed to M. Currently, for dialogue, but also for later content.  
**

**Please read To the Victor go the Spoils. A well written Cato fan fiction with an author created female character. **

** s/8530229/19/To-The-Victor-Go-The-Spoils**

**If you read it and review one of the chapters of that story, you can ask me for a spoiler or ask a specific question for this story.**

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A million thoughts run through my head as I stare at the girl in front of me. What the fuck is she doing here? Shouldn't she be dead? This was supposed to be my year! My year to win. My year for glory. This girl has ruined everything for me. First, it's the tribute parade. The audience went nuts over her costume flickering flames. They screamed her name while she held her district partner's hand, and she and her partner were featured more than any other tribute on the Jumbotron. The rest of us seemed to be ignored. It should have been me on those screens. _I_ trained for this. _I _looked the most prepared for this, and I was ready to _kill_ for this. She outshone us all. And then she goes ahead and scores an eleven in her private training session. She's from District Twelve, for god sake, not a Career district where kids are raised to be lethal killers. What could she have possibly done? I know she can use a bow after seeing her in the arena, but that couldn't possibly earn her an eleven. I'm skilled with a bunch of different weapons, and I only scored a ten. To top it all off, during the interviews, Lover Boy goes ahead and declares his lifelong crush on her, effectively getting the audience to talk about nothing else but the doomed lovers. No one cared about the rest of us.

The loud screams pull me back into the present, and I shake these thoughts from my head. I look out at these same people now and wonder if they still prefer Katniss over me. They seem to have gone mad. I see people with their fists clenched excitedly along the sides of their face, their knees buckling as they scream and shriek that there are two winners. Some are gasping in surprise, and others are crying and murmuring about Lover Boy. This is making me uncomfortable. After all, when it comes to the Hunger Games, I've only known these people to enjoy the most brutal, showy deaths of children, even when it's their favorites in the final two. It's quite a sight to see.

I think of Haymitch's warning from earlier. _You may have won, but the game is far from over._Does this mean we still have to fight each other? I wonder if this audience would be salivating at the mouth for the chance to see true carnage, up front and in person. There have never been two winners before, and I cannot imagine a situation where this would have ever been allowed. My eyes land on the girl in front of me, slowly scanning her body from head to toe to see if she might be hiding a weapon. There's nothing I can see, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have something hidden under her dress. I'm sure the Capitol would have given her a one up on me, tipping her off that there'll be a fight and allowing her to come prepared. When I meet her gaze again, she shivers. _Is she afraid of me?_ I can't help but chuckle.

I highly doubt Haymitch would warn me about an attack from the Girl on Fire, not that I'd need it. If there were such a battle, I would no doubt crush the life from this girl, something I should have done during the games. I would regain my dignity. But something about the way he acted with me down in the training room tells me Katniss is not who I need to be worried about. If there is someone I need to be watch out for, it's probably the president himself, although I don't think he'd kill one of us during the interview. That wouldn't really sit well with either the Capitol citizens or the districts. Not that the games sit well with many of the districts now, but an angry District 2 with all the academy trained kids and adults would not be a good thing.

Caesar isn't having much luck calming the audience. They're still going crazy, but it's only been a few minutes since the Girl on Fire appeared on stage. My eyes travel to where my mentor sits in the second row to find him and Haymitch standing next to each other. Maybe that's the way it's been set up, but from what I can tell of their body language, they appear to be friendly with each other. Haymitch has his head tilted towards Brutus, chatting about something, and both are looking at Katniss, but then Haymitch catches my eye and gives me a single nod of his head. He shoulders Brutus who then turns his gaze to look at me and mouths "play nice."

A stagehand comes out onto the stage, carrying another chair which he sets down next to mine. Caesar has finally calmed the audience and looks like he's ready to start the show. He leads Katniss towards the chairs. I watch as she makes her way over, her dress a soft, yellow-gold that makes it look like she's glowing. Her dark brown hair is down, loose waves flowing over her shoulders and down her back. Her stylist dressed her to appear very young and innocent, like the teenager she should be. I've noticed both during the tribute parade and the pre-game interviews that her stylist appears to be meticulous in his work, always trying to convey meaning with what he presents, so I can't help but wonder why Katniss needs to appear innocent?

When she's a few feet in front of me, I step aside without even thinking and stand before the new chair, giving up my previous seat to her. After all, etiquette says I should do so, and now is not the time to make a scene. This is the same thing Clove and I would do in pre-reaping interviews. Apparently, Katniss isn't educated in such manners because she shoots me a questioning look.

Caesar asks for us to congratulate each other. The brief look of disgust on her face does not go unnoticed by me, and I can't help but smirk at her. For her sake, it's a good thing she's faced away from the audience and cameras. She holds her head up high, her face showing no fear, but I know this mask well. Her body betrays her. Being this close, I can detect the slight tremor of her shoulders, indicating she's either nervous or afraid. I'd guess both.

"Congratulations, Katniss," I say slowly in a somewhat condescending tone while holding my hand out to her. Her being alive makes me feel like I've failed my district, brought shame to them. District 2 and District 12, a Career and a dirty, poor, underfed girl, both being winners at the same time? Pathetic. She looks down at my hand and then back up at me, tilting her head slightly to the side, but she makes no move to shake my hand. I can feel my face heat up as my anger builds. This bitch is snubbing me on live TV, in front of an audience that includes the president himself.

I can't help but clench my jaw and take deep breaths to try to calm myself while keeping my mouth in check. I don't want to say something that could get me into trouble. She looks at me in amusement as she notices I can no longer hide the signs of my anger. Her brazen recklessness is sure to earn her some sort of punishment later by the president.

Caesar makes a joke about Katniss suffering from stage fright again in what appears to be an attempt to diffuse the situation. This must clue her in to the seriousness of her inactions, as she reaches out to shake my hand. I quickly try to think of something that'll throw her off balance and break her tough girl facade. I could kiss her hand or pull her into a fake embrace, but the Capitol would take it as something it's not.

"Cato," she says stoically, while slipping her hand into mine. "Congratulations." I fully want to crush her hand in mine but instead go for a light, playful squeeze before rubbing my thumb back and forth slowly across the top of her hand. My intention is to unnerve her which seems to be working. A blush creeps up onto her face, and she immediately tries to jerk her hand from my grasp, but my grip is too strong. I give her hand a slight tug, pulling her a bit closer to me while flashing her a cocky grin. If her palms are any indication to how nervous she is, she's a wreck. They're clammy.

"Caesar," I say, gaining his attention. "I think she was just too mesmerized with my natural, good looks. I tend to have that effect on the ladies," I chuckle and wink at the audience which causes them to erupt in hoots and hollers. When I look back at Katniss, her cheeks are flushed a deep pink in embarrassment. She rolls her eyes, and this time when she tries to yank her hand from my grasp, I release it freely.

Caesar looks pleased with my little display, relieved almost. He beckons us to sit so that the interview can start and then takes a seat himself. Wearing his signature, toothy smile, Caesar turns back to the audience and welcomes them. Turning back to Katniss, Caesar congratulates her on her victory, and asks her how she feels about her win.

I see her pause for a moment while her eyes search out into the audience. Following her gaze, I can see she's making eye contact with her stylist. He nods his head at her, and she shrugs and begins speaking, "I promised my little sister that I would try to win, and I did. She means so much to me, and I'm just eager to return to her."

"Ah," Caesar says empathetically and reaches out to squeeze Katniss's hand. "I can only imagine how much this must mean to the both of you to be reunited. She must be really proud of you."

If this girl next to me is any indication of what her sister is like, I doubt her sister is proud. Relieved that Katniss is alive, sure, but proud? No, her sister would not be proud that Katniss killed someone. Outlying districts are rarely interested in the games. Being chosen is more like a death sentence, and most people don't have it in them to kill someone else, let alone want to and then feel satisfied. I felt pride during the games, but now, I don't know what I feel. I'm still trying to figure that out.

Before Katniss can retort, Caesar moves on, speaking animatedly to the audience, "Now, I think I was just as surprised as everyone else when I learned both of them were declared winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games. I only found out an hour before the show." He turns towards us, grinning wide and continues speaking, "And I'm told neither of you knew until just now. From the look on both your faces a few minutes ago, I'm willing to bet you were both just as surprised." Katniss simply nods her head, but I decide to speak.

"Yeah, it's quite the surprise to drop on someone. I had no idea," I say somewhat irritated for not being told, and gesturing towards Katniss, I surmise, "and it looks like she didn't know either. The thought that she is still alive never even crossed my mind. Why are we both here when clearly, I'm not Lover Boy and she's not Clove?" I can see the pained expression on Katniss's face when I mention her district partner, but too bad, I lost Clove.

"Good question, Cato." Caesar says while looking between us and the audience. "There was quite a shocking ending, but we can't get ahead of ourselves. Before I can answer that question, we first need to watch the recap of the games." Directing his attention solely on the audience, he explains that they get to watch the recap in 3D with the glasses they'll find under their seats. There are even special viewing locations set up throughout the Capitol to watch the recap in 3D. Apparently, just watching kids slaughter each other isn't enough for them anymore. Now they want to experience it as well. Maybe next, they'll get to be reaped, though I doubt they'd enjoy that. I question the sanity of whoever made the decision to allow the games to be viewed in 3D and can't help but think that someone is going to go crazy from the experience.

I watch in disgust as the colorful freaks shriek in excitement, their heads bobbing as they reach down under their seats. They look even more foolish as they don the black glasses that stand out sorely against their garish outfits. The lights dim and large television screens lower from the ceiling, creating a wall that separates us from the audience. As soon as the screens are completely in place, Caesar turns towards me and Katniss whispers reassuringly that we won't be watching in 3D, and neither will the districts. Katniss seems noticeably relieved. I have no doubt the family or friends of any of the fallen tributes want full immersion into their tribute's death. The games are already a nightmare to many.

The recap starts to play, with an introduction of this year's story.

_'Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this evening's presentation!'_

_'Tonight we explore a tale of forbidden love!'_

_'But beware, for not all love stories end happily. As you may find out, sometimes love pricks like a thorn.'_

_'But don't take it from me. See for yourself what tragedy lies ahead when the paths of star-crossed lovers meet. And now: On with the show!'_

The video starts with a quick montage of all the reapings, except they show Katniss's and my reaping in its entirety. I can't help but think how fitting it is that the two of us sitting here now were the only volunteers this year. The screen cuts to the Tribute parade, and a sense of eeriness looms over me when I see Clove. She's basically riding to her death. When they show Katniss and her district partner ride out holding hands with a blaze of fire trailing behind them while the crowd chants "Katniss," I feel her tense up. Perhaps it is to fight showing her emotions over thoughts of Lover Boy when he was still alive. The trailing cloak of flames is how Katniss earned the name of Fire Girl, or the Girl on Fire. Oddly, we both have our arms up on the armrests and we're touching, but I don't bother moving mine. It'll be a good way to gauge Fire Girl's feelings towards whatever is on the screen throughout the recap. That is, until she realizes her arm is there and moves it.

Next up are the pre-game interviews, but they only show mine, Katniss's and Lover Boy's, who I keep forgetting his name is Peeta. I can feel Katniss tense up again during the replay of Peeta's confession that he likes her, hence being dubbed as the star-crossed lovers. I remember being so angry that night because they had once again outshone us that I never even saw her reaction to his confession. The next scene is a split screen of her and Lover Boy from that night, and I see shock and embarrassment written all over her face.

Continuing the video, the shot moves onto a wide, overhead view of all the tributes standing on their plates, waiting for the countdown to hit zero to start the game. I scan the screen, looking to see where I was standing so I could watch the sprint to the Cornucopia. My heart is thumping in my chest, very much like it did when I was standing on that plate. I lean forward in my chair in anticipation of the bloodbath, my hands gripping the armrests and no longer touching Fire Girl's arm. Even though I know how this turns out, I can't help feeling both excited and nervous of the situation.

Eleven died that morning, mostly by the hands of the Careers. The recap shows each death. I see Clove throw her knife at the boy from District 9 while he's fighting over a backpack with Fire Girl. When he goes down, Clove launches another knife in the same direction, and I can't help but feel hopeful that the events will change and that the knife will hit Katniss. After all, Clove never missed. But instead, Fire Girl lifts the backpack to use as protection from the hit, and the knife embeds itself in the pack. So close. Fire Girl takes off into the woods; Clove gives up the chase to return to the rest of us.

I wonder how the events of the games would change if Katniss had died. Would I still be sitting here? Probably. Peeta wouldn't have joined the Career group, and the rest of the Careers would have been alive a bit longer, possibly making it to the end where we'd fight each other. The rule change would have never been made, as it was meant for the two lovebirds from District 12.

When I watch myself on screen, I come to realize the true reason I had such a knack for killing, why I took joy in it. It wasn't pride. No, it was power. For once, I held the power. I controlled myself. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone being abused needs a way to vent their frustration and anger. Mine just happened to be physically, and in the arena, I let all that anger out and no one could stop me. The release had felt good. All the years of abuse, the torture, both physical and mental, ran through my mind while I was killing the other tributes. It was sick but at the same time, highly satisfying. I pictured them being my cruel trainers and my excessively brutal adoptive father, while I exacted revenge. Imagining them as such made killing them that much easier.

My group survived the bloodbath, but I didn't realize how close to death I had been at the time. I watch in a trance, as I break a kid's neck and slash a few with a machete before coming across my sword in the Cornucopia. I never noticed the boy from 6 creeping towards me from behind with both a pick axe and a knife as I was too mesmerized by the sword. I want to go back in time and smack myself for being so stupid. Surprisingly, it was Glimmer who had my back and saved me. I watch as she whips a hand axe towards the boy, and it sinks into the back of his head. I didn't know she was good with a weapon. She kept her skills hidden. There was so much screaming going on though that I didn't hear the boy release a gasp and fall to the ground.

Once the bloodbath is over, the screen switches to Katniss who is still running through the forest. I lean back in my chair and relax, putting my arms back onto the armrests. The next scene jump forward in time and on one side of the screen it the Career pack coming across Peeta and beating him up a bit before getting the idea to let him join and lead us to the Girl on Fire. On the other side, it shows Katniss pulling the contents out of her backpack. While the Careers are arguing over whether to let Lover Boy join, Katniss is shown setting up snares and then climbing a tree to settle in for the night. I turn to her and her in a kind way if she'll show me how to climb trees, even being a heavier guy and In turn, she can choose for to to train her to do anything I know how to. I'm surprised when she says sure, but to ask her later when we're back on our floors and to use the word Lady Goat to job her memory.

The next screen now focuses on Katniss as she wakes up to see someone has started a fire nearby. Realization hits me of how close in proximity we were to Fire Girl when it shows from her point of view my alliance circling the girl from District 8. I feel her tense up again and see her shift slightly in her seat. The screen cuts to a close up of the the girl pleading for her life, but we just laugh. I hand Glimmer my sword and she proceeds to stab the girl in the chest. When we walk away, I watch in shock to see my group head in the direction of where Katniss is lying in the trees. We were almost right under her. This means she not only saw Lover Boy go back to finish off District 8, but also that he was helping us to find her. Looking back, I wish I had the decent sense to scan the trees.

The next few days, nothing exciting happens. It just shows the Careers out pack hunting and growing restless with no action, while Katniss walks further away from the rest of the tributes. At one point, it shows she's so dehydrated that she collapses to the ground, barely able to move. And then as luck would have it, she finds water not five yards away. Well, luck or maybe the gamemakers intervened and created the small pond, knowing Katniss would stumble across it. Regardless, she escaped death three times.

I'm amused by what's shown next. It's nighttime and we're all back at the Cornucopia eating a meal and complaining about being bored. When we're finished, Marvel and Clove take watch outside the Cornucopia, and Peeta and the District 4 girl settle near the entrance. I'm lying down near the back and Glimmer slinks over to me. The audience starts to hoot and make catcalls when the screen shows Glimmer leaning down and kissing me. As the makeout session gets heavy, I can hear gagging coming from the girl next to me. It's fairly dark in here and I doubt the audience can make us out too easily on stage. I lean over, my warm breath tickling her ear and whisper to Katniss, asking if she's jealous. She gasps and I can see a shiver run down her back.

"Pfft, don't hold your breath," she turns to me and whispers back. "Now get off of me," she hisses softly and tries to nudge me away from her. I can't help but flash her a seductive grin while she scowls at me.

I grab her hand, holding it in mine and wink while whispering in return, "If you play your cards right, I might let you kiss me later." She snorts and tries to yank her hand away but only succeeds in bringing both our hands onto her lap. I feel her stop struggling when they show me on screen shirtless while Glimmer kisses her way down my bare stomach. When Glimmer unbuttons my pants with her teeth and pulls them down, revealing the obvious tent in my boxers, I hear Katniss's breath hitch and her hand goes limp in mine. I look over at her and see her eyes are glued to the screen, her mouth slightly open and her chest rising and falling in a state of arousal. My eyes roam down to her breasts, noticing the outline of her hardened nipples showing through the thin fabric of her dress. I swallow hard and lick my lips. What the hell has gotten into me? I'm supposed to drive her crazy, not the other way around. Besides, she's rather plain. I grin to myself and release her hand, rubbing small circles against her thigh.

"Like what you see?" I whisper to Katniss when I catch her trying to look at me out of the corner of her eyes. I want to tease her about Lover Boy, but Brutus would probably want to slit my throat for making her cry on stage.

"Ew, no. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." she whispers back.

"Charming, but from what I could tell, you liked it," I murmur. She doesn't speak for several moments. I'm willing to bet her face is beet red, knowing I caught her.

Now she's looking at me. "I can't believe you can do _that_ and then sit here and joke about it when kids are being murdered," she whispers indignantly.

"Well, you seem like _loads_ of fun," I reply, laying on the sarcasm thick.

"I try," she says replies using the same tone as me.

"I'm sure you do." I don't know how Lover Boy put up with her. She's got no sense of humor. I have no idea how I'm gonna deal with her during the Victory Tour. Katniss now notices my hand on her thigh and she tries to swat it away. I chuckle while placing my hand back on the armrest and watch her shift around uncomfortably in her chair.

The scene cuts off before anything really graphic is shown and the audience moans in protest. An outside shot of our camp fills the screen. Clove and Marvel are completely oblivious to what's happening inside the Cornucopia. All these people wanted to watch me have sex on TV. Now I'm hating myself for being so stupid. If I knew then what I know now, thanks to Leta, I wouldn't have done that. I wonder how much was aired while this was actually happening during the games? I'm willing to bet there are many people who wish they were in Glimmer's spot right now, although not in the arena. Does Katniss know what we'll be forced to do? Will she be offered another option as well?

Loud explosions pull my attention back to the screen. Katniss is on screen, trying to untie herself from the branch she slept on. There's a wall of fire moving fairly fast in her direction. She gets down from the tree rather quickly and starts to run in the same direction that the forest animals are running. This time, I can see Katniss sitting on the edge of her seat, leaning forward and gripping the armrests tightly. I look back to the screen and watch as fireball after fireball is launched towards her as she's running for safety. How ironic it would have been if Fire Girl died by fire?

The fire appears to be generated by the Capitol. Those strategically launched fireballs as well as the existence of any fireballs at all are a dead giveaway. I admit that I admire Fire Girl's agility and her will to live as she continues to dodge the fireballs. I remember the fire, but we only had flames to avoid, not fireballs being launched at us. When the fireballs abate, I watch as Katniss stops and bends over, vomiting. I release a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in. I'm not sure why I was. Perhaps it's because of the high intensity of the situation.

I watch as Katniss registers a hissing sound but it's too late. She tries to move out of the way, but the fireball hits her right calf before exploding on the ground next to her. I thought she was favored by the Capitol and Sponsors so I'm somewhat shocked to see that the gamemakers were trying to kill her this early in the games. With her upstaging the Careers at every point in the pre-games, we all had it out for her. There wasn't a need for the gamemakers to intervene. I see a grimace on her face as she tries to put the fire out on her pants leg by using her hands, before finally rolling back and forth on the ground. _So this is how she got that injury I saw on her leg when she climbed that tree to get away from us. _

It doesn't appear anymore attacks are going to happen. When she rips the fabric off her pants to reveal the injury, I can tell it's painful, but she does not scream or cry. Her hands appear to be red from burns as well, though not as bad as her calf. When she gets up to start moving, the image on screen splits again, showing Katniss walking away from the area of the fire and the Career pack moving through the woods. There's a small radar screen below the monitor and from what I can tell, the fire was used to pull her back from the edge of the arena and into our path. Afterall, we were bored and I assume the Capitol was as well.

Katniss finally comes across a small pool of water and plunges her hands and legs into it's depths. I notice the look of relief on her face that the cool water gives her. Before long, she's laying on her back along the shore and appears to be sleeping. _She's lucky she didn't get herself killed._ I glance at the radar and see that my group is fairly close now. On our side of the screen, we're just crossing over giant rocks when Marvel spots her. I wish we had been more quiet because when she hears us, she scrambles to her feet and takes off through the underbrush. She has a good head start. I remember thinking that we finally had her; that this would be Fire Girl's end. We take off chasing her and I watch on her side of the screen as she scales a tree rather quickly. I'll never forget the infamous events that take place next; the beginning of the end for the Careers.

By the time our pack reaches the base of the tree, Katniss is already probably 20 feet up the tree. That's a remarkable feat, considering her condition. She surprises us with her calm and casual banter, and when she invites me up, I think she knew exactly what she was doing. I fall for her trap, trying to climb the tree, but I was too heavy for the branches and when one breaks underneath me, I end up crashing to the ground. That really hurt, but I wasn't about to let anyone around me know that. I watch myself get angry after the fall and if it weren't me, I'd laugh along with everyone else. But Fire Girl's not laughing from her seat next to me and I have no idea why. Glimmer also attempts to climb the tree but retreats when the branches start to crack under her feet. During the time we spent trying to scale the tree, Katniss has climbed over three times as high as she previously was. All our attempts to either get to her or injure her fail, which only further enrages me. She was making us look foolish and weak in front of the Capitol and our sponsors. It makes me angry right now just thinking about it. We make a decision to wait out the night and regroup our attempts in the morning.

On screen, I see what was happening some 80 feet up in the tree, things that the cover of darkness hid from the Career pack during the games. The little girl from District 11 is trying to get Katniss's attention. When she does, she points to a Tracker Jacker nest on another branch about fifteen feet up from where Katniss is settled. I know what happens next, but now I get to see why we were caught unaware. Upon seeing the nest, Fire Girl climbs a bit further up, getting close to it and then waits. When the anthem plays, she starts sawing away frantically. _Ah, so that's why we couldn't hear it._ I notice the lack of Tracker Jackers while she's making such commotion with their nest. Somehow, they're subdued. As soon as the anthem stops, so does the sawing and Fire Girl retreats to her branch to settle in for the night. Waiting for her when she gets back is a gift from her sponsors. Apparently, they like what Katniss is planning. She receives a pot of highly advanced medicine that seems to instantly soothe her pain.

We set up a watch schedule with me going first, and everybody else settles down to get some sleep. I prop myself up against a tree across from hers and watch to make sure she doesn't climb down.

Cut to the next morning and Katniss is up before the sun has fully risen. When she looks to the Career camp below, she sees that we are all asleep. Glimmer is supposed to be on watch but instead, she's fallen asleep. _Well, it's her own damn fault that she died._ If she were awake, we could have easily got a head start before the nest comes crashing down, and that it does. Katniss has finished cutting the branch and is sporting a few Tracker Jacker sting marks, but that's nothing compared to the chaos happening below.

The nest burst open upon impact with the ground, the tracker jackers in full attack mode. Peeta is already on the move. He knew of the pending attack. I had a feeling early on that he wouldn't turn on his beloved. I should have ran my sword through him the moment we found him. Back on screen, my group runs to the lake while Katniss scampers down the tree. She makes her way over to Glimmer's bloated, disfigured body just as her cannon fires. Katniss wants that bow Glimmer has and she wants it bad. Using a rock, she smashes Glimmers fingers to free the bow and then rolls her over to grab the arrows. I almost puke as Glimmer's flesh literally melts off when Katniss touches her.

At this point, Clove and Marvel are laying on shore of the lake, drenched with water but safe from the tracker jackers. Clove is smart enough to remove the barbed stingers and she does the same for Marvel. It's no wonder they recovered sooner than I did, however I'm still in high adrenaline mode. I'm chasing Lover Boy back to the tree in hopes of finding a disorientated Katniss so I can end her once and for all. But Lover Boy gets to her first and prods her to get up and run. When I crash through the brush, I'm met with the tip of Lover Boy's spear and the backside of Katniss, getting away, her damn braid swaying back and forth.

Lover Boy holds me up, but he's no match for me. I watch myself on screen, fighting with finesse and with my final move, I slash Lover Boy's thigh, nice and deep. I expected he'd bleed out, a slow and painful death, but knowing now he was in the final three, that was not the case. I make my way back to the lake, throwing myself down next to Clove and pass out. Lover Boy is shown making his way to the river where he then works to disguise himself as part of the surroundings. Pretty damn impressive, to say the least. We must have walked past him a handful of times after that.

Nothing really exciting happens after this being that there are five people hallucinating on tracker jacker venom, and everyone else is too afraid to come out. Well, except the little girl from District 11 who appears to be helping Katniss. She's putting some chewed up leaves onto the lumps that were caused by the tracker jacker stings. I wonder what Katniss was hallucinating about? _Time for a little play._

Leaning over the armrest, I bring my lips close to her ear and whisper, "Hey, Fire Girl. I had the immense pleasure of fantasizing about you while hallucinating." Being this close, I notice the blush that creeps up her cheeks, but she doesn't acknowledge me. She keeps looking straight ahead at the screen, portraying a bored expression on her face. This won't do.

Blowing my warm breath against her neck, I purr, "Oh yes, and I quite enjoyed it. You, underneath me, begging me to hurry up and get it over with, that you couldn't take it anymore. At first you whimpered at the initial pain, but then you kept crying out my name. 'Cato, please.' The pleading look in your grey eyes was so beautiful." This does it. She shoots me a look of utter shock, but I just wink at her and give her an air kiss. "And so I did. I went hard and deep, and in the end, you arched your back up to meet me and screamed my name." I'm actually exciting myself the more I talk. Katniss looks at me wide-eyed, her mouth slightly open. I reach my hand up and run my thumb across the soft skin of her cheek. It surprises me that she lets me do this, to touch her like this, but my goal is to unnerve her in case we do have to still fight until there's a single victor.

Gazing into her eyes, I murmur, "So instead of teasing you with it, I drove my sword straight through your heart," and I grin at her reaction as I finish the sentence.

"You're sick, you know that?" she asks with a look of disgust on her face and slaps my hand away from her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Katniss shifts in her seat so that she's as far away from me as possible. If she could sit on the floor, I have no doubt she would.

"What did you think I was gonna say, Katniss? That we were having sex?" I know that's what I was aiming for, and she fell for it. I shake my head while looking at her. "Your mind sure is in the gutter." She just narrows her eyes at me and calls me a jerk. I almost feel bad for going this far. We could end up having to spend the Victory Tour together. As much as it's bullshit that she's here, I'd rather have someone close to my own age to hang out with.

I zone back into what's happening on screen to see Clove, Marvel and me take off towards a plume of smoke we saw off in the distance. The district 3 boy we picked up a few days ago trails behind us. In the arena, I thought it was Katniss being so careless. How stupid I was. If I'd paid any attention to her during training, I would have known she was skilled in survival and would have never lit a fire so carelessly. Watching her on screen proves as much.

While we ran off to investigate the fire, someone decided to destroy our supplies. Now I get to see what exactly happened. At first, I thought that one of the other tributes blew themselves to bits attempting to reach the supply pile and that the explosion covered the sound from the cannon, but the view of The Fallen that night shows the faces of four and four cannons I heard.

The camera jumps to a shot of Katniss crouched down and hiding in the bushes right outside our camp. After the redheaded girl from District Five steals some food from our supply pile and leaves, Katniss moves a few yards into the clearing where she studies the stack. She pulls an arrow from its quiver and loads her bow, taking aim at the supply pile. Incredulously, I glance briefly over at her sitting next to me, but she is staring intently at herself on screen. _It was her?_ _Did she really blow up our supplies with a fucking arrow?_ I didn't take her as the type of person who'd go on the offensive. When she releases her arrow, I watch as it successfully cuts through the bottom of a burlap bag of apples. She does this two more times, each a hit, until the apples fall out of the bag and tumble to the ground. The effect is instantaneous. The small pressure from just an apple sets off the buried mines which causes a chain reaction, effectively blowing all the supplies to bits.

I grip the armrests of my chair tightly and turn to look at Katniss sitting next to me. I want to reach over and choke the life out of her just like I wanted to do in the arena. It wouldn't take much; her neck is so delicate, and it would be over in moments. She made a mockery of us, of me, and she screwed up my game. Instead of being able to solely focus on finding tributes and winning, I had to waste time searching for food and trying to survive the elements. As I study her face, I don't see a smirk of triumph. Instead, her eyes are downcast and her face is full of sorrow. I notice she is twisting the material of her dress with her hands in her lap. I wonder what has her so dejected?

Her name being screamed over and over again pulls my attention back to the screen. The little girl from District 11 is caught up in one of Marvel's traps. Katniss bursts into the scene, running over and working to free the little girl from the net she's entangled in. I learn her name is Rue. Their reunion is short lived though as Marvel appears. The little girl warns Katniss of Marvel's presence, but as soon as Katniss turns and shoots him using her bow, he's already released his spear. _Hrm, so that's who killed him._ Katniss got lucky when she turned. She moved out of the trajectory of the spear and instead of it hitting her, it lodged itself deep into the Rue's stomach. And then Katniss does something I've never seen in the history of the games, caring for someone that isn't your district partner.

Katniss scoops the dying girl up into her lap and sings to her until her cannon goes off. While I'm sure she it wasn't her intention, her actions could be construed as rebellious. On screen, she burst into tears and when I glance over to look at her next to me, her cheeks are wet. She had to have understood that girl had to die if Katniss wanted to win, and at least she didn't have to kill the girl herself. Unfortunately, she allowed herself to get too close to the little girl, just like I did with Clove. Sighing, I do the most gentlemanly thing I can think of and place my pocket square into her lap. I'm not a total ass. Plus, these people here don't deserve to intrude on such a private moment. I hate them more than I do Katniss. Thankfully, the viewing screens block most of the audience's view of us on stage. I hear a faint "thank you" and return my attention back to the screen.

It's at this point that Claudius Templesmith announces that two may win if both from the same district. Well, I see how well that worked out. Regardless, a montage of reactions from the remaining tributes to the announcement is shown. The District 5 girl and District 11 boy continue to stay in their hiding places. Clove and I hug. We were close these past couple of years. Whereas everyone in District 2 is trained in the art of basic combat and survival, only the most dedicated and skilled move to one of the final training centers. That's where I met Clove. Now I regret never finding out her reasoning for wanting to go into the games. Everyone has a reason. She only spoke of getting into the games, but never about winning. It's a shame she got picked the same year I had to volunteer. I think no one volunteered for her though because they were all afraid she'd kill their families. For me, I really had no choice.

The announcement seemed to ignite a fire within Katniss. She went from looking like she'd given up and accepted the fate of death to being determined to win. Her tracking skills are top notch. She easily located the area Peeta was hiding in, but he had to reveal himself as he camouflaged himself to blend in with his surroundings. He was on the brink of death. I'm surprised he didn't already die from the cut I gave him.

I watch as Katniss selflessly cleans the infected wound and helps her weakened partner to a cave. Anyone else would have left him; he's a liability. Maybe they really did love each other though. Or at the least, I can tell Peeta loves Katniss. He looks at her adoringly the entire time, maybe a bit too much. I take the opportunity to return the favor and start gagging when she locks lips with Peeta after he asked for a kiss, but stop after she smacks me in the arm. It wasn't hard, more like it was playful. When I look over at her, she shakes her head slightly while grinning at me, the tears no longer evident on her face. She still manages to scold me though, telling me this isn't funny while she tries not to smirk. This elicits a genuine grin from me back at her, and I can feel some of the tension between us dissipate. She's actually pretty when she's not scowling. I decide it wouldn't be too bad if we do end up having to spend time together.

As I continue watching the two love birds on screen, it becomes evident that Katniss truly does care about Peeta, that she won't give up on him without a fight. However, I can tell that when it comes to the physical stuff with him, her actions seem forced as if she's being told what to do. Her kisses have no passion behind them. Maybe she only loved him as a friend? There's no way Peeta would be able to tell. When you're that caught up in someone else, you construe every little generous action of theirs as a sign that they like you for more than what it is. Of course they are rewarded generously with sponsor gifts after each kiss, but not with anything that can save Peeta's life.

Clove and I searched all over for this pair and even passed by the cave they were in, however we were about 30 yards away from it and it didn't look like a cave to us. We were restless after the first announcement. There was no action, and I was surprised the gamemakers didn't intervene. When Claudius Templesmith announced a feast, I doubted anyone would come. But then he said it was no ordinary feast, that every one of us needs something desperately which will be put out in a bag with our district number on it. When he said that for some of us, this will be our last chance, I knew right then and there that if Katniss was taking care of her district partner, she would show up. At the time I had thought since Peeta wasn't dead yet, he had to have some infection or even blood poisoning.

The argument Katniss and Peeta are having on screen makes me disgusted just listening to it. I can tell the on screen Katniss is growing angrier by the second with Peeta. He's figuratively backing her up against a wall, saying that if she goes to the feast, he'll follow. But Katniss doesn't seem like the type of girl that thinks things will just miraculously fall into her lap. After all she's done for him, she's not going to sit by idly and watch him die. It would break her. It's hard to believe that he was basically telling her that he'd put both their lives in danger if she went by following her and yelling her name in the woods. If she didn't go, I'm thinking only Thresh would have been killed at the feast and judging by Lover Boy's condition, he'd die in about a day or two. I wonder if she knocked him out with a rock so that she could go to the feast, but my question is answered when I see her mix sleep syrup with berries and feed them to Peeta.

I agreed to let Clove have Katniss while I would search the perimeter for Lover Boy and Thresh. At the time, I really thought Katniss was weak; only good at climbing and hiding. Katniss runs out from her hiding spot, Clove immediately taking off after her and a fight ensues. Had this been a one on one fight, Clove would have won. She had Katniss on her back and was drawing her knife along Katniss's face when she was forcefully yanked up into the air by Thresh and then tossed to the ground. I couldn't see the Cornucopia and had no idea what was happening until I heard Clove screaming my name. Now I have a front row seat to witness her death and I can't help but to tightly grip the armrests of the chair. I watch as Thresh brings the rock down hard and smashes it against Clove's head. My heart aches for Clove, and I will myself not to cry. I failed her. I was supposed to be on the lookout for Thresh and got too far away from Clove to help her in time. It's my fault she died.

Listening to Thresh exchange words with Katniss, I find out she covered the little girl from District 11, Rue, with flowers after her death. No wonder the edit between Katniss crying and Claudius's announcement seemed unfitting. The scene was purposely cut, but it played out live during the games, so why was it cut in the recap? And then it makes sense when I hear her say District 11 sent her bread; the Capitol must believe her actions were rebellious. Thresh lets her go, calling it even for Katniss helping the little girl. This must be common amongst the outlining districts. In District 2, many people never return a favor.

I see the pained expression on my face when I enter the scene, running over to where Clove lay dying. The dent in her forehead looked terrible. I had hoped she would survive through it since there was no major bleeding, even begged her to stay with me, but she slipped into unconsciousness and died. When that happened, I hugged her body close to mine and let a few tears fall before I gathered myself up. Emotions are a weakness, something your enemy can use against you. When I stood, I screamed in rage, feeling angry and alone, and backed away for the hovercraft to take her body. Even now I can hear the low growl emitting from my mouth. Suddenly, a small hand wraps underneath my arm and attempts to clasp my hand, and I let her. Katniss's hand is very soft and warm, comforting. I glance over at her, but she is still looking at the screen. We may not like each other very much, but we understand what each other is going through. This small gesture helps to calm me, even when she lets go. The games were much more difficult than I thought. I never expected the emotional pain.

No one has followed the massive tribute from District 11 into the multicolored, grassy field since finding out that's where he was hiding. It was dangerous. The grain stalks were tall, and Thresh could easily conceal himself within them. I was able to find the path he recently made through the field, but I didn't want to take any chances in that unknown domain. Instead of me going after him, I developed an easy plan to draw him out. Gripping the unburned side of a fiery hot log I removed from my fire pit, I held the glowing end of the ember against a few of the tips of grain. The fire caught fast being that the arena was quite dry. After picking up a flame again on the log, I moved quickly down the edge of the grain field that borders the clearing of the cornucopia, lighting the stalks as I went. Soon, I no longer needed to assist. The fire had taken on a life of its own. Moving back to the small hill at the edge of the field, I take a seat and watch my handiwork.

I didn't really think about it at the time, but this must have been a fight that everyone was eager to see, because the gamemakers got involved and took control over the fire. Although the fire I started was nowhere close to reaching the far end of the field anytime soon, a fire had sprung up there and all along both sides of the field that ran parallel to the forest. There's at least fifty yards on either side of the field that contain nothing but dirt between it and the forest. The fire no longer burned through the center of the field. Instead, that's left as the only fire free path Thresh has to escape. Even though the field appears to run for miles, the fire from the far end is closing in fast.

My thoughts of what Thresh is doing during all of this are answered when the scene changes to show him at his campsite. It must be at least a mile away from the Cornucopia clearing. He's lying on his back, trying to catch his breath. It seems he only recently made it back, but he isn't aware of the fire blazing through the field around him.

Knowing that the fight between me and Thresh is still quite a ways off, I'm not surprised that we're now watching the lovers. Katniss returns to the cave and cuts open the backpack she picked up at the feast. Inside is a syringe that must contain medicine for her boyfriend. She jabs it into his arm and promptly passes out.

By the time Thresh realizes the field is on fire, it's too late for him to pull on the armor from his backpack that is similar to what I received. It seems that the smoke was purposely blocked from coming too close to Thresh until the last minute. The gamemakers didn't want him to win. Sooner or later, the fire would have reached him anyway if they hadn't intervened. He would have been able to escape through the far end of the field. Thresh digs out a machete and some knives from his backpack and stuffs the armor back in before zipping it and throwing it over his shoulder. I watch on screen as he starts to jog in the direction of the Cornucopia. Just as he starts moving, the rain starts. Within minutes, it's a torrential downpour which douses the field fire.

An overhead shot shows Thresh changing direction now that he knows he won't run into the fire. He turns back towards his campsite, his feet sinking into the now muddy field. When the rain had started up, I took off running at a steady pace towards the unburned part of the field. I knew Thresh would be there as I didn't see him run out on either side, but soon, my feet start to sink into the mud. Using what I learned during training back in my district, I started my second step before completing the first one, making me light on my feet and prevents me from sinking into the mud.

Soon enough I could make out Thresh's bulky form in the distance. He was struggling to move through the mud. He snapped his head in my direction as I got closer, and I could tell by his facial features that he knew this was his end, although he didn't show panic or fear. Scooping up handfuls of mud, he starts to fling them at me. The first few throws hit me in the chest, and the speed of them definitely pack a punch. I remember being sorely bruised the next day. But I could tell Thresh was not stupid. He was just testing his aim, because the next scoop hits me square in the groin, causing me to bend over in pain. This time, I notice a few rocks packed in with the mud. Thresh takes advantage of my unguarded state and chucks another handful of mud and rocks at my head which I barely block. I knew I had to stop him from slinging the mud so I used one arm block any more throws while pulling a knife from my belt. When he saw the knife in my hand, his throws became more frantic, every shot aimed for my face. I just relaxed and when I found my opening, I threw the knife and hit him right in the shoulder of his throwing arm. He bellowed in pain and I used this opportunity to pull out my sword and close the distance between us.

I watch as lightning strikes the ground in several places around the arena. The words Thresh spoke to me as I closed in on him were covered up by the rolling thunder. It was so loud that it shook the ground. The audience would never get to hear what he told me after telling me he understood why I came. "I am at peace with myself and will die with integrity. I forgive you for what the Capitol has forced you to do. What they have forced all of us to do."

I didn't even have time to digest what he had said. Lightning started to strike the ground closer to us until one bolt hit dangerously close to Thresh. The power of it knocked both of us back, but Thresh took the brunt of the damage being that the strike was closer to him. Still, the muscles in my legs ached and I had to will myself to sit up. I watched as Thresh's body twitched and he moaned in pain. The gamemakers must have heard what Thresh said as it appears they purposely targeted him for such dangerous words. Of course, the Capitol citizens would remain clueless to this, instead thinking that Thresh was just unlucky.

On screen, the rain stops and I watch myself as I debate whether to kill Thresh now or let him suffer until he dies. I really had no idea how badly injured he was, how long he might live if he is bad off nor if he could recover from this and make a comeback in the games. I didn't like the uncertainty and really, I was ready for the games to move into the finale so that they could be over. My legs felt slightly weak, so instead of standing, I crawled over to where Thresh lay. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. I nudged him, wanting to watch the look in his eyes as I took his life, but his eyelids didn't even flutter. Pulling a knife from my belt, I decided to slit his throat, knowing he would still die but at least it'd be painful. I owe Clove that much.

Once Thresh's cannon fired, I stood up and took in my surroundings, trying to figure out which way lead back to the Cornucopia. I knew how to tell the direction, it's just that I was disorientated. Before leaving to the hovercraft could pick up the body, I removed the backpack from Thresh and took his canteen. I pulled my knife from his shoulder and cleaned both of them before arranging them back along my belt. Deciding that his camp can't be too far away, I walk in the direction Thresh was originally moving when I first came upon him. Soon after, I can hear the roar of the hovercraft, but I don't look back to watch.

When I do come across his camp, I'm quite surprised by it's set up. It's at least 10 yards in diameter and the ground is covered with a generous amount of straw. There's a Capitol made tent set up along with a sleeping bag inside of it. My backpack from the beast lays unopened next to it. Off to one side that's free of any straw sits a fire pit lined with rocks and a sturdy, thin, round shaped stone. I'm surprised to see one of the crates from the Cornucopia sitting here and looking inside, I find several other items for cooking, some cooking oil and first aid supplies. Obviously someone wasn't doing a good job during their watch one of the nights. Being that I could use the rest and none of the remaining tributes poised much of a threat to me, I took up shelter in the tent and fell asleep.

Of course, now we get to watch the lovers again. Peeta strokes Katniss's cheek while saying her name, willing her to wake up. There's quite a bit that goes on between these two, but I mostly tune it out. Here and there I catch some things. They're hungry, but she can't hunt because it's still raining where they are, and their mentor isn't sending food. It seems like Katniss has an epiphany as she purposely steers the conversation towards something more personal and she lets Peeta take control. Out comes the story of how Peeta fell in love with her and I can hear the audience "Ohh" and "Aww." In my opinion, Katniss looks uncomfortable and I'm not sure if it's because she has to make up responses or if it's because she has to share her personal feelings in front of the entire country. Or it could be that Peeta's story bordered on obsession. Just as they go to kiss, a huge basket of food lands at the entrance to their cave, and Katniss looks relieved.

Even as they finish eating, Peeta drones on about Katniss and everything he's noticed about her. If they had both made it out of the games alive, I wonder if she would have continued this display of affection with him willingly. He just seems too soft, too weak of a guy for a girl like Katniss. She's tough, and while it seems as though she likes taking care of others, eventually she'll need and even want someone to take care of her. _Blah, I don't even know why I care._

The next morning, the lovers decide to head out towards the Cornucopia and gather food along the way. The red-headed girl from District 5 dies after eating some berries Peeta gathered. Apparently they're called Nightlock and are obviously quite deadly. Katniss gathers a handful and puts them in a small pouch tied to her belt, saying that maybe I would like some berries. At this, I snort. As if I'd eat anything she offered to me while in the arena.

I was already awake and eating when the cannon went off. Now that only three of us were left, the gamemakers would want to start the finale. I opened my bag from the feast to find a suit of high grade, skintight armor which I quickly worked to put on. Off in the distance, I could just make out the red hair of the dead tribute the hovercraft was picking up. Even though I had hoped it would be one of the lovers, I had a feeling the finale was meant to be us three together. Grabbing only my weapons and a half full canteen, I make for the woods to get some water from the lake.

No sooner than I reached the woods did the day change to evening, and the mutts came out to play. The events play out just as I remembered them, except now I'll get to see what happened after I passed out. I hear Katniss hiss when I bash Peeta in the face with the butt of my dagger and knock him to the ground. That move put an end to the star crossed lovers. Ever so selfless, Katniss sticks around and takes out a few mutts that start to enter the clearing, and then she tries to help Peeta up, but he just yells at her to leave him.

I have no interest in watching what happens between me and Katniss at the moment. Each fight is shown on its own screen. Instead, I watch as Peeta stands up and attempts to fight the mutts while backing his way towards the Cornucopia. If it weren't for the circumstances of the games, I too would be laughing along with the audience as the severed head of one of the mutts started to bounce around. Soon enough, the cameras start to shake, giving the illusion that there's an earthquake. I know better than that. We were hit by a sonic wave or something similar. All three of us were knocked to the ground, including the mutts. The severed head is the first of the mutts to recover though and pounces on Peeta before he can sit up, biting down on his arm. Within moments, Peeta's cannon fires. This is definitely the strangest finale ever.

With only the two of us left, every screen fills with me kneeling on top of Katniss while I choke the life out of her. If only I had noticed her reaching for the knife, I would have snapped her neck, ending her chances of winning. When I lean down to whisper to Katniss, she plunges the knife into the armor free area close to my neck. Just as I grip the knife to remove it, again the camera shakes to make it look like an earthquake and I'm knocked off of Katniss. Good thing, too. If I had removed the knife, I would have probably bled to death. I remember fighting to stay conscious as wave after wave from the sonic blast hit me. Although my eyes were closed, I was well aware of the two cannons that fired, signaling that both Katniss and I died, but I don't remember anything after that.

Immediately, Claudius announces that there will still be a winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games and to stay tuned to the Caesar Flickerman interview where the Victor will be revealed live on stage. I'm not sure what the purpose of faking our deaths was, but I'm certainly not going to offer up to anyone that I was still alive. Someone had to have messed with our trackers, but all I really care about right now is that I'm alive, even if it is along with the District 12 girl.

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**AN: I'm not there yet with flavor text, but I know it's something I need to work on. I could have gone back through the chapter and added more of it, but I felt the chapter would have become too wordy and unnecessarily lengthy. Hopefully the long chapter makes up for taking too long to update. **

**Thank you all who've stayed with the story and taken the time to read and review. I may do Katniss's POV next chapter.**

**Note: The intro to the recap is taken from the Romulo and Julianne event in World of Warcraft.**


	6. The Interview

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I knew what I wanted to write about, but the words didn't flow right. It's hard for me to interpret what's in my head onto paper. Plus, I was dreading to write dialogue, but I think it turned out rather well. **

**Hope you enjoy your dose of Catoniss.**

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**Cato's POV**

On screen, a hovercraft quickly descends upon the Cornucopia where Katniss and my body lay motionless. It's a little surreal, watching my supposed death. I notice Leta as one of the medics who make their way over to work on us. I'd sure like to pay her a visit, if only I knew where she was. Hopefully I'll see her later and find out what the hell just happened. Well that, and I still have a bone to pick with her.

I glance over at Katniss, wondering what she thinks about all this only to see she's glaring angrily at the screen.

"Why did they not help Peeta?" she rhetorically asks. "They could have helped him, brought him back. Why were they wasting their time on me? I was fi..."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," I scold in a harsh whisper, not letting her finish her sentence for fear of what would happen if she says what I think she was going to say. I'm certain the microphones hidden within the seats are set to pick up whatever we say during the recap. Maybe not whispers, but still it's stupid to speak dangerously when we're so exposed. When the cannons fired, I was still alive and just barely conscious. Now it sounds like she was, too. She curls her small hands into fists and turns towards me, about to protest, but I shoot her a warning glare. "Don't be stupid and say that," I hiss. "Besides, they probably already picked him up."

She narrows her eyes at me, but then looks away, her head bowed slightly down as if she's deep in thought, but I pay her no more attention.

The screens fade to black and ascend back into the ceiling as the lights gradually become brighter in the auditorium in preparation for the start of the interview. Several audience members return to their seats, making me wish for a break before the interview. This is too long to sit in a chair.

Once the audience is settled, Caesar welcomes everyone back and then turns to us.

"What an exciting day still ahead for the both of you!" Caesar exclaims. "There's the crowning ceremony and then a celebratory Victory Ball later this evening. So let's make the most of the time we have left as I don't want to be the one to upset your escorts by making you late," he says, feigning fear while casting a glance towards Kiki and Effie, which makes the audience laugh.

"Now, that has got to be the most exciting Hunger Games I've seen yet!" he starts and beckons the audience to voice their agreement. "So many memorable moments. We've never in the history of the games had all the tributes die in the end, leaving us with no Victor."

Crossing his legs and resting his elbow on his knee, Caesar gets into that storyteller mode we all know him so well for. "I remember that moment, sitting at the broadcast desk where I was doing commentary on this grand finale. I heard one cannon and thought it was over, but then I heard the second cannon fire immediately after the first. I was shocked speechless which for me is shocking in itself." The audience laughs at this, murmuring about how true it is.

"For a while there, I thought _this cannot be_. It was just a misfire, a slip of the finger, but then I looked at the tribute monitor and neither tracking indicator was lit for Cato nor Katniss. I can't imagine what everyone was thinking, but I think I could hear the shock across the nation when they realized we had no Victor."

The audience murmurs in agreement. Over the hum of the crowd, I hear a few people say it ruined their party, that some of their guests broke down and cried or completely lost it, not knowing what was going to happen. If I had to take a guess at why they really were upset, I'd say it's because they lost a lot of money on their bets.

Caesar puts his hands out in front of him, indicating for people to quiet down. "I'm right there with you. It was confusing to me, too. Now, being a man who gets behind the scenes info on all the happenings, I have got to tell you, the scene inside the Gamemaker's room was one of complete and utter calm."

"Within a matter of minutes, I got a call from Seneca Crane with the go ahead to announce that there'd still be a Victor. At that point, it was all up to President Snow."

Looking at us, Caesar continues, "You both have a lot of fans, but there's even more people that favor you both, like myself, and they were torn between who they were hoping would be named the Victor. None of us could have predicted the president's decision, but it was one he said he made immediately. The medics were told to work on both of you, and that's how we have you both here with us on stage today. Let's give a hand to our terrific medical staff."

Not wanting to appear ungrateful, I join in with the applause. Plus, I really have no clue what happened after I lost consciousness. Maybe I did die at that point. As if taking a cue from me, Katniss joins in the appreciation as well.

But then I hear something that makes my blood boil - "I don't know what I'd do if we had no Victor" - "Oh, I would have died" - and I think Katniss heard them as well because she has stopped clapping and is now glaring in the direction of the two bimbos sitting in the front row. I must have a murderous look on my face because when one of the girls looks up at me, she visibly flinches and looks away. _Fucking idiots_, I think angrily. They'd go on living just like everyone else. If having a Victor every year is all that they live for, they might as well kill themselves now to ensure they don't reproduce. Though I'm sure there's a whole lot more that are just like them. Pathetic.

I must not be doing a good job keeping my anger from showing because while Caesar is trying to get the audience to settle down, Katniss nudges me and tells me to "fix your face." This takes me by surprise. After all, she could have said nothing and left me to fall on my face when the attention came back to us fully. I know it's something I would have probably done, but I'm guessing she didn't even think twice about it. I force out a fake smile just in time. All eyes are on us as Caesar starts talking again.

"This has got to be a bit overwhelming for you the two of you. Finding out you actually died and now you're sitting here perfectly fine. I'm sure you're both wondering what happened."

We both nod our heads. "Of course," I reply.

"The 'to the point' explanation is that you both passed out as the venom from the Mutts made it into your bloodstream, where it eventually reached your heart, causing it to stop. Katniss, through the cuts on your arms. Cato, through the cuts on your face and then the wound at your neck. The medics gave you each an anti venom shot and then shocked your heart back to life."

"That's incredible," I say feigning shock. It's not like the people in the districts don't know what the Capitol can do. Year after year we're reminded of the power of Capitol as we watch tributes heal themselves with medicine from sponsors. We see Victors sitting on stage with no trace of the injuries they incurred during the games. No scars. Regrown appendages. All while people suffer in the districts. Of course, District 2 gets more help than most, but the Capitol only goes so far with its generosity. Only the training academies get access to the best medicines.

I ponder what Caesar just told us. It does seem plausible that I could have actually died. I mean, after passing out I don't know what happened, although I do know I was aware when the cannons fired. So maybe we didn't die right away, or even at the same time, but it was made to appear that way in order to keep us both alive. There's a reason why we were both saved, and I'm curious as to why. I can't help but feel though that the only reason I was allowed to live is because she is here. In the end, that fight was mine. She would have been dead. But she is popular with the people.

"Isn't it?" Caesar says excitedly. "And now you're making history, right here, as the first ever dual Victors. That's something amazing!" Caesar stands then and holds his arms up in victory as he looks out into the crowd. The audience stands and roars with approval. People are shouting their thanks to the president and claiming this is "the best decision ever."

Caesar turns back to his chair and sits down, the audience following suite. "Now, I know you both haven't had much time to process this, but what's your thoughts on President Snow's decision to allow for dual victors from different districts? Cato, you first."

I look out at the crowd, thinking about my answer carefully. "Well, Caesar, President Snow saw it as a good choice, and I agree with his decision." Caesar looks surprised by my response, but he can't expect me to openly disagree with Snow. Not if I value my life. I do feel somewhat angry. I was robbed of what was rightfully mine and instead made to share.

Expanding on my response, I continue, "He'd already changed the rules to allow two Victors, and as you said, we both had a huge fan base. So instead of leaving the people with no Victor, he made a generous move that would make the most people happy. I think it shows how much the districts mean to Panem." To keep them in line, really. Can't disappoint the Capitol citizens. The crowd starts an uproar, cheering for their giving president.

Caesar nods his head, agreeing with everything I say. "Very true. And what about your district, Cato?" Caesar asks.

I haven't really thought about how people at home are reacting. Maybe they see me as a failure, but I know just how to play into their egos. Winning always garners us the Capitol's favor. It keeps us in the limelight. And nobody's going to turn down free food and access to luxuries usually only reserved for the Capitol. We do what we have to do to survive.

"I think this bodes well for District Two," I boast. "We're highly competitive, and we take pride in our accomplishments. We won the first Hunger Games, we have the most Victors, we have the most back to back victories and now we have one of the first ever dual Victors. If you are from District Two, then you are celebrating while watching this interview."

"Now that is what I call being proud of your district, people!" Caesar exclaims and the audience cheers in response. It'd mean more to me though if they showed on screen the people of District Two and their response.

Once they quiet down, Caesar turns to Katniss, asking her the same question he asked me.

"Well, who can really complain that they're alive? As long as I am, I have no issue with it." Caesar laughs fully at her answer and she chuckles uncomfortably, apparently not intending for her answer to be funny.

When Caesar has himself under control, he reaches over and picks up an electronic tablet that was sitting on a small table next to him. Instead of following up with the same line of questions to Katniss, he changes the subject. "Now, during the recap we asked the audience to submit their own questions for both of you, and this here is a compiled list of the most frequent and interesting questions," he says while tapping the tablet screen. "Unfortunately we had to rule out all the requests for a date," he chuckles.

The audience "awws" but really, what else do they expect? Hopefully the questions aren't stupid, like what color would I dye my skin or what animalistic features would I change my face into cosmetically. Some of these people have whiskers and cat-like dyed stripes on their skin. Ridiculous.

Caesar glances at the tablet, then at us, grinning "What I find astonishing, and I think you'll be surprised as well, is that most people are interested in what both of you will be doing, together. We haven't even learned your schedule yet of what appearances you'll make in the Capitol, but people are hoping or assuming that you'll be spending time together, within your districts no less."

This leaves me a bit stunned, and I have a feeling that Katniss feels the same way. People traveling freely to another district is unheard of, except in extremely rare cases. I know they've moved people in or out of our district before, but I never knew the reason nor did I bother to ask. The most I've ever seen of other districts is the area where their reapings take place. The Capitol is very careful in what they show.

If the reaping area is the best they have to offer in District 12, the rest of the place is bound to be run down and dirty. It's the poorest district. They don't even have grass or pavement where the kids stand and wait. Hell, even their clothes look drab. Hopefully I won't have to go to that slum other than during the tour. I can imagine that even their nicer buildings are falling apart.

Caesar begins speaking again, breaking me out of my thoughts. "So I thought we could have a little ice breaker here since the two of you barely know each other. Think of something nice to say about each other, a compliment. Katniss, you first." Well this is awkward. I feel like we're in a kindergarten class.

I catch a slight frown on her face before she shifts slightly in her chair to look at me. I watch her eyes as she gazes at me from beneath her long eyelashes. She seems to purposely avoid anything but brief eye contact with me as her eyes scan me up and down. The corners of her mouth twitch up briefly before she turns away and shifts back in her seat. I can tell she's uncomfortable being put on the spot. "He's handsome. Not that he needs to hear it," she answers surely.

The audience wolf whistles in agreement. Something stirs inside of me at her compliment, causing my signature smirk to make its appearance. So the Girl on Fire thinks I'm cute? Never thought I'd hear her say that.

"Sounds like you're popular with the ladies everywhere, Cato," Caesar observes and winks at Katniss, causing her cheeks to turn a bright shade of pink which in turn, causes me to chuckle. "Now, Cato. I'm not letting you off the hook here. What do you think of Katniss?"

Katniss turns, looking at me curiously. "She's excellent with a bow. Had I known that before the games, I would have invited her to join our alliance." I register the disappointment in her eyes as soon as I finish my first sentence, almost like she's insulted by what I said. What did I say wrong? After all, she did use it to blow up our supplies. If it hadn't affected me, I would have thought it was one of the best moves I'd ever seen.

Caesar must feel the same way as her because he asks me to compliment something about her appearance. I almost feel like a little kid being reprimanded. This time, Katniss is staring straight out into the audience instead of looking at me, and I miss her eyes. "She has the most striking eyes I've ever seen," and it's true. I remember her eyes looking straight into mine on top of the Cornucopia. Startling grey eyes that seemed to peer into my soul.

The audience cries out again, awwing me. Even Caesar has a goofy grin. "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it? Now I gotta follow up with something you just said that I find interesting. You said you would have invited Katniss into your alliance. How do you think that would have affected your chances to be sitting here? Do you think Clove would be sitting here with you perhaps?"

"Let me think on that for a moment," I request.

"No problem," Caesar says. "Take your time."

I feel a pang in my chest at the mention of Clove, but I knew from the moment her name was drawn that she would have to die if I were to win. True we were friends, but I tried to never let myself become emotionally attached to her. Physical actions replaced emotional reactions. Emotions were a weakness your opponent could exploit. They still are. The Capitol knew this. Just the sheer fact that they could so easily throw a wrench into the mix by providing hope beyond what we were ready for. A fate we were prepared for, although I can now say maybe we were never really prepared.

"I'd rather not think about what could have been. There are too many variables that would make it impossible to determine what would have happened instead. I try not to think about it. What's done is done and nothing can change that. We're here now, and I've come to terms with that. I'm ok with it." An answer for the Capitol as I can't say what I really want to say. There's some truth to what I said, but I can't help but think about how I'd seen Clove a week ago and now she's gone forever. It really hasn't sunk in.

They exploited a camaraderie to become more than that with the rule change. I see that now. Not only was it used to lure the Girl on Fire to Lover Boy in order to ignite their romance for the purpose of entertainment, but it also served as a test to see if Clove and I were truly as void of personal emotion as we seemed. We failed. The rule change served its purpose, to break us down, to make us vulnerable.

We were arrogant though. We dared to hope and plan for a future where we both still exist, never considering the possibility that one of us wouldn't make it now that we could win together.

The rule change showed power of the Capitol. They thrive off others' pain. It's entertainment. Katniss and I are proof that the rules are not set in stone, that they can be changed, especially if it benefits the Capitol. They were bent for us. But I think this may also have a negative effect on the Capitol. Caesar begins to speak again, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"You're very strong, Cato," he says with a tight smile. No doubt whoever is behind his earpiece is pushing him to ask these questions. In general, Caesar always tries to make the tributes feel comfortable and avoids touchy subjects with Victors. "And Katniss, assume you did join Cato's alliance. What things do you think would have turned out differently?" This piques my interest. I didn't expect Caesar to ask her that, but I really want to know what she says.

"Well, I don't know how much it would have changed the games. There really is no way to know what the end result would be." Then she turns her grey eyes on me, and she is every bit the Girl on Fire at this moment. "I got here without your help, so why would I join you if we had to do it all over again?"

I'm captured by her gaze and can't break away from looking at her. "Remember that this would be had I known you were skilled with a bow. I would promise you the bow, and if you didn't join, I'd break it. Not even Glimmer would have it for you to pick off her," I affirm. I wanted to do whatever it took to keep that fire alive in her eyes.

"I could have managed without a bow, although I wouldn't have been able to cause so much trouble for your alliance," she says with a smirk. "Besides, Haymitch might just send me a bow."

It's possible that may happen, but I'm sure that certain events would still play out the same so I decide to bait her. I'm sure the audience is loving this. "That sure would be an expensive gift. I don't know that your mentor would enough to send your boyfriend that medicine." She narrows her eyes and scowls.

"Peeta," she interrupts. "His name is Peeta."

"Chin up and smile. Cameras," I warn in a barely audible whisper. The microphones here are similar to the ones in the Arena in that they don't pick up whispers.

"So Peeta would join as well?" she asks sweetly, a condescendingly fake smile plastered to her face.

"No," I shake my head. "Just you, but I would promise not to touch him or seek him out until the point you leave the alliance."

"How would I know that I could trust you? You could easily turn around and kill me in my sleep."

"No one would sponsor us if we did that," I chuckle and hear the audience murmur in agreement. "Might even come back to an empty Cornucopia. At some point you'd have to trust me. Afterall, I gave you a bow that you could just as easily kill me with."

"Well, on the assurance that Peeta would be safe, say I do join. It's better to know where you are all the time than trying to hide. Oh, and none of us would have to experience the pleasure that is Tracker Jacker venom," she chuckles and I join in, but then her face falls and the fire in her eyes burns out. "But then I wouldn't have met Rue, and she would have had a better chance of making it to the end," she chokes out, her composure slightly breaking and tears threatening to fall. She looks down as she places her left arm on the armrest and closes her eyes, her loose hair providing a curtain to hide her face.

Caesar's peers at Katniss with a look of concern, though I don't know if it's because he really cares or if it's because he's afraid of the consequences if she ends up losing it. I lean over and whisper in her ear. "Relax and focus. It's not your fault and they don't deserve to see you cry. Relax," I say sternly, yet soothingly. I don't want them to see her eyes, only me. This moment is too private. I briefly wonder if someone would have cried for me, if I had died?

After a few moments, she sits up straight and looks at me. There is no trace of tears on her face. "I would still shoot whoever touched her," she murmurs. There's a fierceness in her eyes that promises she'd follow through on that threat. A jolt of excitement runs through my core at seeing her like this. It's an unexpected feeling.

"I know," I smirk. "And I wouldn't stop you." She raises an eyebrow at me and then turns back towards Caesar.

"If Peeta never got injured, I could see him making it to the end and maybe winning. He was strong. He'd have a good chance against whoever was left. I don't think there would have been a rule change, so I wouldn't have gone to find him. I couldn't bear it if we were the last two. Without being there, I'm not going to speculate what I'd do or what would happen."

"No worries," Caesar assures her. "You've given us more than I could have ever asked for. I loved the back and forth between the two of you. That was a...maz...ing." Several members of the audience begin to clap which turns into a full round of applause. Even Caesar is clapping with a huge smile on his face. I have to agree with the man. It was pretty interesting, one of the few high points of the day. The others being the brief conversations with Katniss during the recap.

"And Cato, what you did back there, comforting Katniss. Such a gentleman. I could see the two of you becoming real friends."

Katniss stiffens beside me and I have to smother a laugh. Such a harmless thought, even if it's unlikely. Not like he's asking if we'll be lovers.

"Okay, I know that you guys have a lot to do tonight, so I'll wrap this up with two more questions for both of you: What's next? We all know that you'll be going home and moving to the victor's village but what are you going to do with the rest of your lives? And lastly, we took a poll from the audience, and they want to know what you are going to do with the money given to you for winning."

I can't believe that the crowd would want to know that- in fact I know that that is not what they want to know. They would want to know something juicier. Caesar is still looking at Katniss so she answers first.

"The games have taught me a lot and so I'm going to go home and be thankful for every day I get to spend with my family," she says and the crowd murmurs sentimentally. "As for the money, I guess I would want to build a greenhouse for my mother and sister to grow their herbs"

"You know, Snow has a very extensive greenhouse. Next time you see him, you should ask him for some gardening tips. I hear that his roses are to _die_ for," Caesar gushes.

"I'll make sure to do that," Katniss murmurs unconvincingly and a burst of laughter erupts from my mouth, knowing that she would never do that. I cover my laughter by coughing heavily.

"Cato, What about you?" he questions with a lift of his brow. "What's next and what are you going to do with the money?"

"You know, Caesar, I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do next next. I guess I'm going to take the time to figure out that next step." My only goal throughout the years was to volunteer for the Hunger Games when I turned eighteen and win, and I've done that. Never have I thought what I would do with my future. I don't have a hobby. Now I need something to busy my time and hopefully it won't be spent in some freak's bed. "As for the money, maybe I'll buy a motorcycle. I've always wanted one." I've always pictured riding a motorcycle as being the ultimate freedom. I feel a glint of excitement just at the thought of riding with the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and having nowhere I have to be.

"I could certainly picture you riding one," Caesar nods. "Well, folks. That's all the time we have." He stands then and gesturing towards us, announces, "Cato Sorenson and Katniss Everdeen, your 74th Annual Hunger Games Victors!" The crowd applauds and out of the corner of my eye, I catch President Snow waiting in the wings behind the stage. Ah, yes, the crowning ceremony. How could I almost forget? This is something I've dreamed of for a long time. Honor, pride, recognition and finally, freedom.

The anthem begins to play and we rise. The president walks out onto the stage, a small girl following him with the crown resting on a plush cushion. I wonder why there's only one crown, and the crowd murmurs in confusion, until President Snow gives it a slight twist and it separates into two crowns.

He places the first crown on my head with a smile and then places the second crown on Katniss's head. I would have expected a look of disdain after hearing him venomously scolding Leta for her Girl on Fire garb, but his eyes are calm. This isn't the same man I met earlier and I wonder if he's on some medication. _Fucking odd_.

After much bowing and waving to the cheering audience, Caesar Flickerman bids them good night. The stagehands signal for us to follow them backstage now that ceremony is over. This should be fun.

* * *

**I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Anything you're hoping to see? Do you like Cato's POV? I'll have something from Katniss soon.**


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